i have just read that although certain approaches of cognitive behaviour therapy, (ie. modelling, problem solving strategies, self-evaluations, self-monitoring, and self-reinforcement) show improvements with ADHD clients, research has consistently documented the lack of efficaty and only modest empirical support to deem it (more of the cognitive side than behavioural therapy) a successful treatment option for ADHD. i suppose they are talking about these approaches when not in conjunction with parent training, because parent training, on the other hand has shown to be of useful intervention.

i like to think that cbt as a useful intervention to manage areas that medication cannot reach.

does anyone use these particular cbt approaches, or their children do, and find that they do work?

fyi: this are the articles, where i got the info from, for those interested -

Anastopoulos, A.D., and Gerrard, L.M. (2003) Facilitating Understanding and Management of Attention-Deficit/Hyperacivit Disorder. In Reinecke, M.A., Pattilio, F.M., and Freeman, A. (Eds) Cognitive Therapy with Children and Adolescents: A Case Book for Clinical Practice (2nd ed). New York: The Guilford Press

Pelham, W.E., and Walker, K.S. (2005) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In Graham, P. (Ed) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Children and Families (2nd ed) UK: Cambridge University Press

I think CBT by itself would be an excellent option to consider for anybody not wanting to use medication. Please explain more about parent training as I want to know more about that.

parent training .. from what i've read .. comproses of sessions that parents attend, where they learn about fundamental knowledge about the aetiology of ADHD, what symptoms to expect, and the nature of treatment options available. and more importantly, it teaches parents behavioural treatment strategies and helps parents learn how to apply them with their ADHD children.

it involves teaching methods such as improving he effectiveness of commands, the point of token rewards system, positive reinforcement, and time outs for misbehaviours. and enforces the importance of consistency.

i guess it works better hand in hand with the child's individual cbt sessions, so that the parents can help the child with their own self-monitoring and self-reinforcement skills they learn in therapy. but research has shown that apart from the improvement in the ADHD childs ADHD symptoms and classroom behaviour, it has shown to be especially useful for enhancing parents knowledge and acceptance of ADHD, the reduction of parents stress levels, and improving family dynamics.

Don't know how I came across it but this article from NY Times might be of interest:
Parenting as Therapy for Child’s Mental Disorders (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/health/22KIDS.html?ei=5090&en=f11e27a09dbbb59a&ex=1324443600&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all)

thanks for the link FuturePast, it was a good read. i've read a lot of scientific publications that explore the same thing. and i think cbt definately works hand in hand when the parents have also been given some training to help continue using learned skills at home.

i just thought there may be some people who attend cbt and use approaches like self-reinforcement that have worked, without the help of other interventions like parent training.

Parent training in combination with CBT seems like an excillent combination to use with or without medications. This is something I'm glad to know now seemings how I want to work as an adolesant psychologist...

i agree, if not for the children/adolescent, for the benefit for the parents to gain more knowledge of the disorder and to reduce the pressures on them by learning techniques that can help the whole family