Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mrs. Debock
English
17 March 2016
Essential Question: How can psychiatric counseling help manage ADHD?
Working Thesis: With the help of psychiatric counseling, people with a diagnosis of ADHD can
better manage and adjust to their disorder to better cope with activities of daily living.
Refined Thesis: With the help of psychiatric counseling, people with a diagnosis of ADHD can
better manage and adjust to their disorder; to better cope with activities of daily living, even
without the use of medication.
Annotated Bibliography
Clay, Rebecca. Easing ADHD with meds. American Psychological Association. APA. Feb.
2013. Web. 2 May 2016.
Medication isnt the only treatment for ADHD, behavioral therapy has been proven to work as
well. According to Gregory A. Fabiano, PhD., behavioral treatment programs were highly
effective for children with ADHD. Some of the treatments used were programs that involved
parents, teachers and therapeutic recreational groups. Each of these programs worked with
ADHD children to help them succeed in day to day life. The parents program helps parents learn
how to strategize in order to help their child succeed, by rewarding good behavior and not the
bad behavior. Children with ADHD are noticed more when bad behavior is present therefore are
getting the attention that they want from behaving badly. Teacher programs help the ADHD
student with behaviors in the classroom. The structure is set up with one on one teaching which
is more straightforward. Again, the students are rewarded with good behavior instead of bad. By
giving the students a daily report card it shows them the progress and the reward on a day to day
basis. Therapeutic programs help with social skills that includes camping, sporting, and craft
summer camps. This is another valid point that supports my claim that children can receive
treatment by alternative methods other than medication.
Goldstein, Sam. The Role of Psychotherapy in the Treatment of ADHD Throughout the
Lifespan. Learning Disabilities Association of America. LSDAA, n.d. Web. 2
May 2016.
Counseling as a form of ADHD treatment is highly effective especially when a child is placed in
a short term counseling sessions when first diagnosed. This first step is designed so that they can
learn and understand their reasoning for their difficulties. This helps reduce that chance of
ADHD children feeling helpless. It gives the ADHD child an increased motivation and improves
coping skills. Carrying on counseling sessions throughout adulthood gives emotional support and
helps develop management, organizational skills, anger management and problem solving
techniques. Most children with ADHD have repeated failures. This is because they are unable to
understand why they experience difficulty meeting real world expectations. According a study
completed by a Harvard group, cognitive behavioral therapy was effective but it also improved
mental health and enhances self-control while reducing symptom severity. I chose this article
because it helps a person understand why a child with ADHD has difficulty coping with day to
day activities and decisions.
Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent
Psychology. SCCAD, 2012. Web. 10 May 2016.
Treatment for ADHD has shown that behavior therapy is an effective type of psychosocial
treatment. Successful behavioral interventions for children with ADHD have three basic
components: parent training, teacher consultation/school interventions and child-focused
treatments. Parental teaching on how to deal with the child is the most important part of
behavioral interventions. By setting realistic goals that the ADHD child can achieve is essential.
Being consistent with a child with ADHD is another important essential in psychosocial
treatment. Parents and teachers must realize that change will not happen overnight this is because
an ADHD child will improve gradually and these skills take time for them to accomplish. This
article explains how effective behavior therapy is to a child with ADHD and some tips on how
parents can learn how to deal with a child with ADHD.