I've been asked to write an article for a therapists magazine

[kilted_scotsman]

Hi All

I've been asked to write an article for a therapists magazine about working with Adult ADHD clients.

What would you like to tell a counsellor/psychotherapist about

1) Spotting ADHD - not the DSM criteria.... but the red flags that aren't in the DSM.... those things that should make the therapist sit up and start to think ADHD might be in the picture.

2) What is the most important thing you'd like a talk therapist to know when working with an ADDer?

3) What do you really NOT want from a talk therapist.... personal horror stories welcome!

4) What has made the biggest difference for you... even if it wasn't talk therapy related.

The focus of the article is to try to get therapists to think outside the DSM box.... so that they can spot the undiagnosed ADDer and also take account of ADHD in therapy.

Thanks

kilted

PS I'm doing the article as a favour at short notice

[namazu]

Moderator note: This request has been reviewed and approved by ADDF Admin.

[peripatetic]

Originally Posted by kilted_scotsman

Hi All

I've been asked to write an article for a therapists magazine about working with Adult ADHD clients.

What would you like to tell a counsellor/psychotherapist about

1) Spotting ADHD - not the DSM criteria.... but the red flags that aren't in the DSM.... those things that should make the therapist sit up and start to think ADHD might be in the picture.

• less eye contact because wandering gaze
• forgetting where you're going in mid sentence
• sometimes i talk in a circle and ultimately come back to what i was talking about initially if given enough time
• interrupting/finishing others' sentences
• not having a key item, e.g. bringing a notebook to take notes and forgetting a writing instrument
• needing to repeat multiple step instructions or go step by step instead of telling me five steps, tell me one, let me write it down or talk about it, then the second, etc.

2) What is the most important thing you'd like a talk therapist to know when working with an ADDer?

that if you don't send me an email recap of our conversation, i'm not going to remember it. sending a follow up email with "today we discussed you doing xyz and then making an appointment for timeframe lmn...etc" is HUGELY beneficial to me, and though you are discussing talk therapy, this is true for my psychiatrist as well, especially if there are medication changes.

3) What do you really NOT want from a talk therapist.... personal horror stories welcome!

i don't want any of your positive psychology ********. finding something to be grateful for when my world is collapsing around me basically tells me you lack empathy. you might have some sympathy...but you're not really here on the same level i am trying to understand me, you're just trying to make yourself feel better about things.

also, don't try to deal with my meds...that's what my psychiatrist is for. i don't need a second opinion or input. i know it's not good that my ADHD is currently unmedicated, but i want to not have a psychotic break (another one) so i MUST work out other meds first. i'm not keen on having medication discussions with therapists in general. stick to helping me figure out how to live the life where i am now, in light of what's happening now. i'm well aware that my ADHD problem is one that demands and responds well to medication, but that simply isn't where the rest of my mental illness is and i have to prioritise that. THAT SAID, don't discount my ADHD simply because it's not the most pressing of the three diagnoses i have and recognise that all of them overlap and interplay to make my life miserable at times.

4) What has made the biggest difference for you... even if it wasn't talk therapy related.

with respect to ADHD, the biggest leaps have been with occupational therapists and working out routines and how to build them. i'm still working on that, but OT has given me an amount of hope that i can do this, especially since i'm currently unmedicated for ADHD.

The focus of the article is to try to get therapists to think outside the DSM box.... so that they can spot the undiagnosed ADDer and also take account of ADHD in therapy.

Thanks

kilted

PS I'm doing the article as a favour at short notice

hope that helps and let me know if you have follow up questions. x

[Kunga Dorji]

A few more things for spotting it:
fidgettiness-- rapid foot tapping

often pale/sweaty
very often late- because left too late to get here, or got lost on the way
failed to bring needed items like questionnaires
Found reading the questionnaires overwhelming (goes back to the eye issue)
disorganised
carrying way too many personal belongings- often screwed up into a massive backpack
forgets to see the receptionist on the way out to fix up the account

[sarahsweets]

For diagnosing.. Hyperactivity can develop and become worse as an adult even if you did not have it as a kid (IME)...hyperactivity can be both mental and physical.
For treating: DO no tell me to exercise more, I get it, endorphins are good.

[Monox D. I-Fly]

Originally Posted by kilted_scotsman

1) Spotting ADHD - not the DSM criteria.... but the red flags that aren't in the DSM.... those things that should make the therapist sit up and start to think ADHD might be in the picture.

What's DSM criteria?

[Greyhound1]

Originally Posted by Monox D. I-Fly

What's DSM criteria?

It’s the criteria usually used as a guideline to diagnose disorders. Currently, they are working off the 5th edition.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) is the product of more than 10 years of effort by hundreds of international experts in all aspects of mental health. Their dedication and hard work have yielded an authoritative volume that defines and classifies mental disorders in order to improve diagnoses, treatment, and research.

[Fuzzy12]

Originally Posted by kilted_scotsman

Hi All

I've been asked to write an article for a therapists magazine about working with Adult ADHD clients.

What would you like to tell a counsellor/psychotherapist about

1) Spotting ADHD - not the DSM criteria.... but the red flags that aren't in the DSM.... those things that should make the therapist sit up and start to think ADHD might be in the picture.

2) What is the most important thing you'd like a talk therapist to know when working with an ADDer?

3) What do you really NOT want from a talk therapist.... personal horror stories welcome!

4) What has made the biggest difference for you... even if it wasn't talk therapy related.

The focus of the article is to try to get therapists to think outside the DSM box.... so that they can spot the undiagnosed ADDer and also take account of ADHD in therapy.

Thanks

kilted

PS I'm doing the article as a favour at short notice

1. Emotional dysregulation

2. "Just do it" sometimes is really the only way that something can be done but that doesn't mean that we can do it. Also, just wanting something enough isn't enough to make you work for it.

3. Crying, being told that there if talk therapy doesn't work then there is no other option

4. Meds and exercise