The Los Angeles Times had a large piece on “Adult ADHD” recently that gives an overview of the phenomenon, although it sidesteps some of the controversey surrounding the diagnosis. In my experience, there are many mental health professionals that believe “adult adhd” is vastly over-diagnosed and is simply clinicalizing a collection of personality traits and habitual behaviors. The problem with doing this is the same as it is for many other conditions, that individual characteristics within the “normal range” of behavior are made to be abnormal and part of some sort of disorder that requires treatment (see Disease Mongering). The first two steps to getting help according to the article are 1. “don’t resist the diagnosis” and 2. “consider medication”. It then covers a list of medications used to treat adults with the condition and almost completely ignores non-medical interventions like psychotherapy. Obviously there are many individuals who have desperately struggled with inattention from the time they were children into adulthood. There are also groups of people that have milder forms of these characteristics that get labeled with a “disorder” and are locked into taking expensive medication long-term instead of trying alternatives such as brief counseling to help structure daily schedules differently and develop adaptive behaviors. Unfortunately, none of these options were discussed, something that plagues many news stories covering mental health issues.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 14 Jul 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.