ADHD for Children and Teenagers

What Is ADHD

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) poses unique challenges for children and teenagers, particularly in focusing, organizing tasks, and maintaining attention. Recognizing signs of inattention is crucial, and individual therapy is a pivotal resource in supporting these individuals. Inattention in ADHD children and teens often manifests as an inability to sustain focus on tasks, frequent forgetfulness, difficulty following instructions, or seeming disorganized. These struggles can impact academic performance, social interactions, and overall self-esteem.

How Therapy Can Help

Individual therapy offers tailored solutions to address these challenges. I can collaborate with the child or teen to identify difficulties and develop personalized strategies. Through cognitive-behavioral approaches, therapists assist in reframing negative thoughts, enhancing attention, and improving executive functioning skills. In my therapy sessions, I will provide a warm and safe space for exploring emotions and frustrations related to ADHD. Learning coping mechanisms and stress-reduction techniques equips individuals to navigate challenges more effectively and build resilience. Moreover, I can liaise with parents and educators to implement effective interventions, creating supportive environments aligned with the child’s needs. They guide incorporating strategies learned in therapy into daily routines.

The goals of Individual therapy for ADHD are to increase self-awareness, self-regulation, and social skills. Therapy fosters improved academic performance, heightened self-confidence, and overall well-being by empowering children and teens with tools to manage symptoms. In essence, individual treatment plays a pivotal role in empowering ADHD children and teens, offering personalized support to navigate the complexities of their condition and thrive in various aspects of their lives.

Additional Resources

Eating Disorders - It's Not About the Food

By Kelly Lopez

If it’s not about the food, what is it really about?

The eating disorder serves a function, it does a job. Despite the problems an eating disorder creates, it is an effort to cope, shield against, communicate, and solve problems. Behaviors may be a way to establish a sense of power or control, self-worth, strength, and containment. Bringing may be used to numb pain. Purging may be a way to release emotions. When one cannot cope in healthy ways, adaptive functions (behaviors) are created to ensure a sense of safety, security, and control.
According to Carolyn Costin*, some of the “adaptive functions that eating disorder behaviors commonly serve are”:
It’s not about the food, it’s a way of coping with low self-esteem, negative emotions, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, unstable home, difficulty resolving conflict and much more.
*Costin, Carolyn. The Eating Disorder Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments and Prevention of Eating Disorders. 3rd. edition, McGraw Hill, 2007.
Fuller, Kristen. “Eating Disorders: It’s Not All about Food.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 22 Mar. 2017