Psychotherapy and ADHD
Artur Kołakowski

The psychomotor hyperactivity is one of the most prevalent paediatric, neurological and psychiatric ailments in children. Most guidelines on treatment of ADHD imply the use of nonpharmacological methods; only when these appear ineffective, pharmacological treatment may be considered. However, studies indicate that in the case of both very severe clinical picture of ADHD and concomitant disruptive behaviour (oppositional-defiant disorder and severe behavioural disorders according to DSM-IV-TR), pharmacological treatment should be included simultaneously with other therapeutic methods. In recent twenty years many nonpharmacological methods have been applied to treat ADHD: individual therapy, group therapy, restrictive or supplementary diets, EEG biofeedback and attention trainings, however only one of them – used independently or combined with pharmacotherapy – has a confirmed short-term efficacy in ADHD treatment: behavioural modification of conduct. Similar interventions should also be applied in school environment. Presently in Poland, similarly to European guidelines, a complex treatment of ADHD is recommended, where one of the elements may be pharmacological treatment. The article presents further methods to be contained in such therapeutic programme, ranging from psychoeducation for the patient and her/his family (the patient and parents should be told what the ADHD specificity is like, especially they should be informed about three axial groups of symptoms, aetiology, course, prognosis and planned treatment; the knowledge of parents, guardians, family members and teachers about the disorder allows to implement appropriate elements of support for the hyperactive child but also very often releases the child from the “guilt for symptoms”), educating and motivating the adolescent for treatment, to specific types of psychotherapy depending on the type of the patient’s additional problems (e.g. aggression replacement training, teaching social skills, or cognitive-behavioural therapy).