Counselling clients with ADHD
Mary Lynn Trotter MSW RSW
• Clinical social worker
• EAP provider
• Parent of young child with ADHD
What is ADHD?
• Attention Deficit (Hyperactive) Disorder
• Mental health disorder
• Learning disability
Who has it?
• Children
• Teens
• Adults
How do they know?
• Red flags at school
• Performance issues at work
• Relationship issues everywhere
How is it diagnosed?
• Physician/specialist such as a pediatrician, psychiatrist
• Psychologist – school board, private, university
Treatment options
• First-line: medication
• Exercize – cardio
• Counselling/coaching
Traits
• Inattentive
• Distractible
• Impulsive
• Forgetful
More traits
• Disorganized
• Hyperactive
• Emotionally over-reactive
• Poor motivation
Impact on work
• Poor time management
• Doesn’t finish things
• Gets bored easily
More challenges at work
• Quits/gets fired
• Underemployed
• Can’t follow instructions
Strengths at work
• Often right-brained/creative
• Good at sales, crises, high energy, novelty
• Suited to self employment
Interpersonal issues
• Too talkative, scattered
• Resistant to authority
• Can have oppositional traits
Counselling ADHD’ers
• Short, regular meetings
• “Chunk” information into pieces
• Reminders of appointment times
• Help with accountability
Key issues to address
• Motivation
• Focus more on strengths, less on areas of challenge
• Commitment/perserverence
Supports that work
• Hire an ADHD coach
• Identify workplace
accommodations
• Recommend assistive devices
Ready for more?
Thank you!