If Your Adolescent Has ADHD: An Essential Resource for Parents (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative)

by Thomas J. Power

•How experienced are you at working with adolescents who have ADHD? Look for a therapist whose background and experience are a good match for your teen’s needs. •What therapeutic approach do you use for treating ADHD? You are looking for an expert in behavioral treatment. Therapists who provide this type of treatment may refer to what they do as behavioral therapy or solution-focused therapy. Sometimes they may refer to their approach as cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is fine as long as they place a strong emphasis on using behavioral approaches. Keep in mind that the word behavior is found in the names of other types of therapy as well. •Will you work with my child alone, me alone, or both of us at once? The best answer is “all of the above.” Let’s say your family embarks on an initial course of family behavioral therapy for 10 sessions or so. In a typical scenario, about one-third of the time in therapy would involve your teen meeting one-on-one with the therapist. This gives your teen a chance to start developing goals, engaging in problem-solving, and improving communication skills. About one-third of the sessions would involve you meeting with the therapist. This gives you an opportunity to learn some behavior management strategies and hone your own communication skills. And about one-third of the time would involve you and your teen seeing the therapist together. This allows the two of you to do more work on communication, negotiation, and collaborative problem-...