ADHD Coaching: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals by Abigail Levrini

Author:Abigail Levrini
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: American Psychological Association
Published: 2015-06-14T21:00:00+00:00

Case Study

ADHD Coaching With a

Young Professional Adult 9

his chapter gives a second example of working with an adult

client who is struggling with a variety of issues related to

Twork and healthy lifestyle. Building on the concepts identi-

fied in the previous chapter, the case of Lanicia further illus-

trates how working with an adult client is different from

adolescents or college students. Although the key symp-

toms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are

similar in all age groups, as individuals mature and age, the

behavioral manifestations of their symptoms change. Insight

and motivation tend to be at a higher level; however, chal-

lenges remain as these individuals struggle to find a way of

coping with work and demands of being a self-sufficient,

independent adult.

Lanicia is a 32-year-old woman with a master’s degree in

biology, employed as a research assistant working on genetics

research and writing grants. Her pediatrician informally

diagnosed her with ADHD in elementary school. Her parents

resisted putting her on medication and were not aware of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/14671-010

ADHD Coaching: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals, by F. Prevatt and A. Levrini

Copyright © 2015 by the American Psychological Association. All rights

reserved.

145

146

A D H D C o A C H i n g

any other forms of treatment. However, they had been quite support-

ive of her, and she had done well in school. As an adult, she presented

as bright, articulate, well dressed, attractive, and outgoing. She had

a good job that she liked, sang in her church choir, and was pas-

sionate about tennis. However, Lanicia was near tears during the

first session. She was afraid that she was going to lose her job, she

felt that her supervisor was upset with her performance, and she

reported having to work much longer than the other researchers

in the lab to complete her work. She had not disclosed her ADHD

diagnosis to her supervisor and was worried that if he found out, he

would “stereotype” her and be further critical of her performance.

Lanicia had never taken medication but was currently considering

that option.

Lanicia hadn’t been dating for several years because she’d had no

time to do so. She had recently purchased a small condominium but

was feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of paying the mortgage and

keeping up with repairs on her own. She reported that her finances

should be in good shape, but she had student loan debt to pay off, credit

card debt, and just couldn’t come up with a system for being efficient

with her finances. Finally, she reported being exhausted much of the

time because of sleep difficulties.

Case in Action: Beginning,

Middle, and End

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Lanicia had never been formerly assessed for ADHD or other mental

health disorders. Therefore, before the first session, the coach had her

complete an Application for Services, the Barkley Deficits in Executive

Functioning Scale (BDEFS), the Client Symptom Checklist (CSC),

the Coaching Topics Survey (CTS), the Outcome Questionnaire—45

(OQ–45), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (refer to Chapters 4

and 5 for more information on these instruments). The coach reviewed

these measures and developed the following working hypotheses and

questions.

1. Lanicia exhibited a moderate amount of anxiety and depres-

sion, with low self-esteem (CSC, OQ–45, Rosenberg). The coach

would need to determine whether the affective issues would

be a detriment to

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