A majority of my clients experience inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, or combined type of AD/HD. My approach to evaluating and working with those with attentional challenges or neurocognitive style, has been influenced by years of working in Dr. Edward Hallowell’s offices, and my own subsequent private practice over 2 decades. Dr. Hallowell is the author of Driven to Distraction, Delivered from Distraction, ADHD 2.0 and numerous other popular books on the subject. I use his strengths-based philosophy in our work to help people understand their own brains/body/emotions as related to their choices, needs, gifts, and the match to the demands of their lives.
I particularly enjoy working with people with inattentive type of AD/HD, sometimes referred to as ADD, as well as determining if gifted clients may have been misdiagnosed as having AD/HD or experience the co-existence of both forms of exceptional wiring, both of which commonly occur.
Sometimes there are other challenges that complicate your efforts to function at your best. They might be distinct from the AD/HD, mistaken for AD/HD such as being gifted, or having CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder), executive functioning issues, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia, or commonly occur together with AD/HD (sensory processing issues, misophonia, anxiety, depression, mood fluctuations, or weight issues). Changes or complications in life circumstances can also heighten the impact of AD/HD, such as major life changes, demands of your job, physical or hormonal changes, lacking of sleep, having children, or the environment, such as lighting, sounds, or comfort.
Women with AD/HD
I am considered the Boston area specialist for women with AD/HD, and have run a support group for women with AD/HD for over two decades. Conceptually based on the works of Sari Solden and colleagues (Women with Attention Deficit Disorder, and A Radical Guide to Women with ADHD) we recognize the influence of one’s neurodiversity as both inhibitory and advantageous. Clients move towards self-acceptance, self-regulation, and self-actualization.
How we work on AD/HD
Coming from the perspective of respecting your immense efforts to adapt and cope, as well as your tenacity, creativity, and resilience, we look at what has worked and where you remain challenged. We honor the intensity of feelings which may have surfaced from years of struggling—such as frustration, demoralization, profound fatigue, or shame, and work together to devise new strategies designed to fit better with your natural inclinations and strengths.
In our work we begin with a comprehensive evaluation of your specific strengths, challenges, history and current circumstances. We then learn about AD/HD, your brain, your body, heredity, and your emotions with respect to your life: such as work, relationship demands, and your aspirations. Is there some target or sphere that rises as the focus of your desire to focus?
A big component of our work is gaining a better understanding of the concept of stimulation and learning new strategies and skills designed to achieve a more productive, organized, and fulfilling future. Ultimately, living with AD/HD should involve recognizing it as a facet of yourself, a characteristic of your wiring. It should not limit or undermine your self-perception or self-worth but rather excite possibilities, kindle opportunities, and steer you toward your visions.
Working on your AD/HD wiring may involve
- Discerning if you are someone with AD/HD neurotype
- Identifying other neurotypes that might be at play
- Learning about your AD/HD
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)- enhancing the connection between what you think, how you feel in your body and emotions, and how you act
- Helping your loved ones learn about how AD/HD and its importance in your life together so they can offer support
- Changing your environments at home and work to help you achieve an optimal setting for productivity
- Identifying how you conceive of time and learning new time management skills
- Identifying what organizing strategies work and which need some refreshing
- Practicing active mindfulness and meditation techniques, attention training
- Using Hypnosis to enhance understanding and follow through
- Coaching to generate realistic goals, hold yourself accountable, and evaluate your progress
- Social skills training to improve relationships at home and at work
- Understanding your brain- including “executive functioning skills”, “fast and slow” thinking styles, the relationship to impulses and creativity, and the impact AD/HD has on your behavior so you can make healthy intentional choices
- Reading, writing, reflecting, art making, exercise, meditation, or other creative activities in, or between sessions, for the purpose of enhancing our clinical work
Professional Collaboration, Consultation, Referral
If you are working with other practitioners, I readily collaborate with or consult to them. I do not prescribe medications. At times progress may also include working with other practitioners to complement our work, such as:
- A neuropsychologist for neuropsychological testing
- A family or couple’s therapist for relational support
- An audiologist for audiological testing and/or interventions
- A psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist for medication
- Your medical doctor for check up
- A behavioral optometrist for assessment and/or treatment
- An organizer for in-home help
- An AD/HD coach for more targeted and frequent brief coaching contact
- An occupational therapist for sensory processing evaluation or treatment
- A nutritionist for special dietary needs
- A sleep clinic consultation to evaluate or treat sleep problems
- An addiction specialist for substance abuse issues
Carpe Diem. Grab Today. Act now. You have choices.
To choose to change thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, is a first step toward aligning them with your values.
Contact this office to get started. We offer individual evaluation, psychotherapy, counseling, consultation, and support groups for AD/HD.