Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and modified Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT Informed) place a strong emphasis on helping you develop tools to reduce emotional over-reactions.
Some individuals with ADHD are hypersensitive to stress and rejection. Our CBT and DBT Informed psychotherapy will teach you tools to feel calmer, to better manage your emotional reactions and to identify the negative thought patterns that contribute to your emotional upsets.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) was originally developed to treat depression, but a growing body of research shows that it is also an effective treatment for adolescents and adults with ADHD. CBT provides clear benefits including higher self-esteem, greater self-confidence, increased productivity and more happiness.
CBT works by teaching individuals to recognize self-defeating patterns of thinking called “cognitive distortions” that perpetuate problem behaviors. It’s no wonder that a teen or adult with ADHD has low self-esteem and expects negative outcomes after feeling overwhelmed and making mistakes daily for years. CBT helps to turn that self-defeating process around.
Living with ADHD and anxiety can cause negative thoughts and behavior due to under-achievement and poor executive functioning. At Chesapeake, we have developed a modified CBT program that emphasizes the development of attention, organization, and focus.
Both teens and adults can benefit from CBT
Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
CBT helps to replace pessimism with realistic optimism, by reducing feelings of hopelessness with a developing sense of control and effectiveness.
CBT focuses on self-defeating behavior patterns and supports the client in developing new, more constructive habits. CBT involves “homework” – i.e., putting into practice new behavior patterns such as reducing procrastination or improving sleep patterns.
CBT is not a substitute for medication but can greatly enhance improvements in daily living when used in combination with medication.
CBT can be provided in both individual and group treatment settings. Sometimes a group setting is especially helpful because then the individual can identify with others with the same struggles and group members can support each other in taking steps in the right direction.
How Long does CBT take?
CBT is designed as a short-term, goal-oriented, practical treatment approach that helps clients to feel better about themselves and their future. Research shows that as few as a dozen group or individual sessions can help clients make effective, positive changes in their daily lives.
Modified Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
(DBT ‘Informed’)
Modified DBT Skills Training to Address ADHD, Anxiety and mild Depression
Traditional DBT therapy is a very intensive form of therapy that involves both group and individual therapy that was developed for individuals with very severe struggles with regulating their mood and behavior. We have modified DBT therapy so that it is effective for those with ADHD, anxiety, and depression.
Learning to practice mindfulness is at the heart of DBT-modified therapy. Through mindfulness, teens and adults can gain significant control over their focus of attention (a big plus for those with ADHD) while also learning to moderate negative feelings of anxiety and depression through learning to focus on the breath and on the here-and-now instead of focusing on the thoughts and feelings that can cause feelings of anxiety, overwhelm and despair to become overwhelming.
The Chesapeake Center’s modified DBT skills training can be very helpful for those with Anxiety, ADHD and Depression. Our modified DBT Skills Training is less intensive than traditional DBT and is not appropriate for those with acute issues such as severe depression, suicidal thinking or self-harming behaviors.
Core skills associated with DBT include:
Radical acceptance – a mindset in which the individual learns to stop fighting negative aspects of reality and to accept reality as it is
Emotional regulation skills – learning skills, including mindfulness, to readily reduce negative feelings while increasing positive feelings of happiness and contentment
Wise mind skills – in which the individual learns that the best approach in decision-making or in assessing a situation is to use both our thoughts and our feelings in combination – the “wise mind” – rather than approaching life ruled by negative emotions or ruled by detached logical analysis – when we combine the head and the heard, developing a “wise mind” we make much better decisions
Walking the middle path – DBT teaches individuals to “walk the middle path” between their own view of a situation and the viewpoint of others; in the middle path there is no single “right” decision or conclusion; instead of “either/or” thinking, DBT teaches “both/and” thinking – that both “my reality” and “your reality” are real and we need to walk the middle path to find a solution
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who can benefit from DBT? DBT is appropriate for both adolescents and adults. It can be particularly useful in a family therapy session where DBT skills learned by both parents and their children can help to reduce conflict and to increase understanding.
How is DBT therapy provided? DBT skills can be taught in individual therapy, in group therapy settings, and in family settings.
How long does DBT take? There are many distinct DBT skills to be introduced and mastered. We often offer 12-week groups for adolescents, however, in some cases, it can be very beneficial to participate in a DBT Skills Group twice in order for the learned skills to become more ingrained in daily life. Decisions about how long to participate in treatment are made on an individual basis.