Mindfulness for Adult ADHD A Clinician's Guide

Foreword, Russell A. Barkley
I. Overview: Knowing the “Why” before the “What”
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual and Research Review
3. Teaching Considerations: Common Questions and Answers
4. ADHD Psychoeducation
II. MAPs for ADHD 8-Week Program: Seeing the Forest for the Trees
- Session 1. Introduction to ADHD and Mindfulness: Reframing of ADHD
- Session 2. Mindful Awareness of ADHD Patterns: “What Is My ADHD Like?”
- Session 3. Mindful Awareness of Sound, Breath, and Body
- Session 4. Mindful Awareness of Body Sensations
- Session 5. Mindful Awareness of Thoughts
- Session 6. Mindful Awareness of Emotions
- Session 7. Mindful Awareness of Presence and Interactions
- Session 8. Mindful Awareness as a Life Journey
III. Beyond Initial MAPs for ADHD: The End May Be Just the Beginning
5. Considerations of Next Steps
Appendix: Session Summaries and Session Handouts
References
Index

Biography

Lidia Zylowska, MD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota and a faculty member at the University’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing. Dr. Zylowska is a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. Internationally recognized as an expert in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and mindfulness-based therapies, she is a cofounding member of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Zylowska pioneered the application of mindfulness in ADHD and led the development of the Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) for ADHD Program. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and is author of the award-winning self-help book The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD.

John T. Mitchell, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and a faculty member in Duke’s ADHD Program. Dr. Mitchell has published over 65 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, with a primary focus on ADHD, including developmental outcomes, assessment and treatment, and co-occurring substance use. He conducted the first controlled study of a mindfulness-based treatment program--the MAPs for ADHD Program--with a sample composed entirely of adults with ADHD. Dr. Mitchell regularly provides training to clinicians on the assessment and treatment of ADHD in adulthood.

"If you want to teach mindfulness in your clinical practice with adults with ADHD, then this is clearly the best book for achieving this. Spelled out in exquisite detail is not only the compelling rationale for the use of this approach to symptomatic management of adult ADHD, but also the step-by-step instructions for doing so.…I congratulate the authors for setting forth here so detailed a clinical manual as to make it relatively easy and straightforward to implement the MAPs approach to ADHD management in a convenient, easily understood, and now widely available format."--from the Foreword by Russell A. Barkley, PhD, ABPP, ABCN, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

"Until now, clinicians who wanted to use mindfulness in treating adult ADHD have had to cobble together ideas and skills from various sources, most often not adapted to the unique features of this disorder. Zylowska and Mitchell have produced a clinician-friendly, evidence-based guide for tailoring mindfulness skills for adults with ADHD. The book presents an effective group approach that can be adapted for use with individuals. This exciting resource is complete with supporting research, implementation guidelines, and mindfulness exercises, and will be a go-to guide for clinicians for years to come."--J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Co-Director, Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

"A wonderful, much-needed resource for clinicians who treat adults with ADHD. The authors provide specific suggestions for talking with patients about mindfulness and how it can help. The book describes ways to adapt mindfulness exercises to be more palatable to those with ADHD, and present instructions for conducting the program in a group or individual context. The approach described in this book can be used either as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or medication treatment. I highly recommend this book."--Susan Sprich, PhD, Director, CBT Program, Massachusetts General Hospital

"How can the healing potential of mindfulness--which helps us stabilize attention amidst competing and insistent mental demands--be harnessed by people with attention difficulties? This book provides the definitive answer. Zylowska and Mitchell’s expertise is evident on every page of this accessible treatment manual. Crafted with care and precision, the book encompasses psychoeducation, guidelines for teachers, customized mindful awareness practices, and individual session curricula. Clinicians will be supported and ably guided in their work with adults with ADHD.”--Zindel Segal, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders, University of Toronto–Scarborough, Canada

"This much-needed, beautifully written manual comprehensively weaves together the 'whats,' 'whys,' and 'how-tos' of teaching the evidence-based MAPs program. Zylowska and Mitchell thoughtfully explore the rationale for creating a bridge between traditional mindfulness-based interventions and ADHD medical and psychosocial treatments. The book features detailed, clear, well-organized instructions for implementing each of the program’s eight sessions. Mindfulness trainers will appreciate how this accessible guide makes the benefits of mindfulness more accessible to neurodiverse people. ADHD clinicians and coaches will benefit from learning how mindfulness training can enhance self-awareness, self-regulation, self-compassion, and self-efficacy.”--M. Lee Freedman, MD,CM, FRCP(C), Mindfulness Trainer and Community Psychiatrist, Toronto, Canada-This manual for clinicians presents a wonderfully thorough, informative, and compassionate guide to the science and practice of applying mindfulness to treating ADHD in adults, from two authoritative voices.--Mindful Magazine, 4/20/2021