Children with ADHD face unique challenges, especially since it is often presented with co-existing conditions.
When treating issues related to ADHD, we feel that parent involvement is critical to treatment success.
We have a different view of child therapy than many traditional child therapists.
Certainly in cases such as helping a child deal with a divorce, loss of a family member, social anxiety or other psychological/emotional issues, we provide child therapy focused on the immediate concerns of the child. But in many cases, for example, when treating issues related to ADHD, we don’t find that child therapy is the most effective treatment model. Instead, we often work with the parent(s) and child together, engaging in helping the family to understand the challenges their child is facing and helping them to problem solve as a family.
The best way to help children with ADHD through therapy is to form a partnership with their parents. We find that treatment is most successful when parents are actively engaged in the process. We teach parents evidence-based parenting approaches to reduce outbursts and conflict while increasing positive, cooperative behaviors at home. Individual play therapy can be useful to help children in situations such as loss of a family member, parental divorce or social anxiety, however, our approach involves the whole family.
Even with adolescents, we find that a family-focused approach is most successful. With teens, we work to create a strong bond and high level of trust with them while also encouraging them to bring their parents into the treatment so that they can problem-solve together.
We work with parents individually, in family therapy and also offer parenting groups allowing parents to learn from each other and feel supported in their parenting challenges.
Children with ADHD face unique challenges, especially since ADHD is often accompanied by co-existing conditions including:
• Learning disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Sensory processing disorders
• Speech and language disorders
• Oppositional defiant disorder
• Problems with fine and gross motor control
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