ADHD ADHD - ways of working in therapy?

[barefoot]

So, I’ve always thought I’m pretty rubbish at therapy. Just, not very good at doing it. My T has always said there’s no right or wrong way to do therapy. And I get that. But…

It’s probably not so much that I feel like I’m doing it totally ‘wrong’ as such. I think it’s more…I’ve always found it quite frustrating…because I’ve never found a way to really make the most of it. Or get the most out of it?

I’ve recently been diagnosed with combined type ADHD. And, now I better understand the way my brain works - and the things my brain feels difficult - I’m wondering if the ADHD has been part of my challenge with ‘doing therapy sessions.’

I don’t know if I’m unhelpfully hoing down a rabbit hole here. Or looking for excuses for why I’m rubbish at therapy! I’m just wondering if anyone else has discovered any things that help with therapy sessions with an ADHD/ND brain? (Or the opposite - anything that gets in the way)

Just trying to see if I might be able to bring in some new ways of working in my sessions/with my T that might be a revelation to me now!

(Not talking about having therapy for/about ADHD - just having therapy as a person with ADHD)

 

[Friday]

When I’m doing classic office type therapy? 120min sessions. At a minimum. With at least 1 or 2 ‘get up & move’ breaks (go splash water on my face, walk or jog around the building, drink somehing or smoke, sit in my car with the music up, whatever I happen to feel like in the moment for 5-15 minutes give or take)… let’s the last section settle/percolate/clarify… and the next section have a lot of purpose/drive to it. Takes all the thoughts/questions/etc. I’d otherwise be having on the way home, and completely forgotten (or superseded by events) by next week, and puts them squarely on the table.

EMDR sessions are almost universally booked at 120 minutes, so the trauma therapists I’ve worked with have always been down for the time slot, and very quickly come on board with the breaks. They get to grab a pee or a bite, too. And refreshing? Is good. Whether it’s required to make my brain work, or a bonus for someone whose noggin is less all over the place.

 

[barefoot]

Taking short breaks in a session is a good thought. I don’t generally feel I need a break in the moment (I’m actually really ok just sitting still for ages, so don’t feel a desire to get up and move, for example).

But I do have a tendency to go off on tangents and end up wittering on about all sorts of stuff (and it’s rarely the things I intend to talk about) So, I guess, a quick break breaks the momentum if I’ve gone way off track and encourages a bit of reflection about what I’m talking about and if that’s what I want to be talking about and how I want to be using the time. Allows the opportunity for a bit of a reset if I’m on a roll talking talking talking…

Because, as you say, otherwise I get to the end of the session and then feel disappointed/frustrated that I ‘wasted time’ and didn’t bring up the stuff I wanted to bring up.

Thanks!