ADHD Therapy in Chicago
Whether you are curious if you have ADHD, were diagnosed as a child, diagnosed as an adult, have a partner with ADHD, or have a child with ADHD, many people find individual therapy to be a helpful support.
What is ADHD?
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Contrary to the name, individuals with ADHD have attention, and oftentimes LOTS of attention for preferred or interesting tasks, but they have difficulty channeling it, especially towards tedious or nonpreferred tasks.
ADHD research has shown neurological differences in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and other areas of the brain, including the areas responsible for deciding where to focus attention, sustain attention, and task initiation (called the Default Mode Network, Task Positive Network, and Salience Network - find more information on these structures in our blog post!)
ADHD impacts working memory and prospective memory. This interferes with the brain’s ability to encode information in order to form a plan, retaining the plan and when to act, recognizing the cue to act, execution, and making sure the plan was completed according to plan. People with ADHD can also display hyperactivity, impulsivity, and difficulties with emotional regulation.
ADHD can present differently for individuals depending on their sociocultural context. Therapists at Common Thread Counseling Chicago can work with you to develop a treatment plan tailored to your specific needs.
ADHD issues that therapy can help with include:
shame
low self esteem
partner conflict
parenting struggles
challenges completing basic tasks
negative consequences from impulsive actions
difficulties with school and work
co-occurring conditions like anxiety or substance use disorders
masking and burnout
rejection sensitivity
Therapy for Parents of Children with ADHD
Parenting a child with ADHD can be challenging. While children with ADHD can be enthusiastic, compassionate, curious, and creative, many systems and structures can be difficult to navigate for neurodivergent kids and their caregivers.
Therapy can be a space to help parents process and validate their experience, provide referrals for support groups and evaluations, and come up with coping strategies to deal with the mental and emotional load that can arise from caring for a neurodivergent kid.
Therapy for Individuals with Partners with ADHD
Having a partner with ADHD can have many benefits, but it can also come with difficulties, especially when navigating new chapters of the relationship, like moving in together, expanding your family, or career changes. Therapy for someone with a partner with ADHD can help with understanding ADHD, communication tools, and how to utilize gentle accountability.
Sessions will focus on the individual’s experience instead of their partner. An ACT approach can assist with recognizing the difficult feelings while becoming less entangled or stuck in the idea of control of change on perpetual issues. It can help with identifying the core values and importance of the issues that arise, how to align actions with meaningful goals, and how to separate ADHD-related behaviors from personality traits.
Our Approach to Therapy for ADHD
Our approach to therapy for ADHD includes a strengths based approach; ADHD can have many positive qualities, such as creativity, hyperfocus and achievement, innovation, empathy, and adaptability. We will work on leveraging and channeling positive traits to your advantage while building supportive tools and systems for aspects that feel less positive.
Counseling for ADHD will also include tools for emotional regulation, how to practice gentle accountability with a partner, advocacy, and setting unique approaches in place that look different than systems neurotypical folks utilize.
We will also discuss tools that have been suggested or attempted that don’t work well (we will not ask “have you tried making a list?”) and will work with you to develop modified versions of adaptability and organizational tools.
We often will incorporate Motivational Interviewing (MI). MI is a therapeutic approach that allows the you to be the expert on your experience, recognize barriers to changing, and supports intentional, sustainable work towards habit transformation.
Medication management is a huge component of ADHD treatment. We can help connect you with a psychologist for an evaluation to rule out any co-occurring disorders, as well as professionals who specialize in ADHD and can work with you to prescribe a medication and dosage that is right for you.
“I wasn’t lazy and I didn’t lack motivation. I wasn’t undisciplined or stubborn; I was just different.”