Acclaimed ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) expert, Lidia Zylowska, MD, recently published her second book about the condition. Titled, Mindfulness for Adult ADHD: A Clinician’s Guide, the book is designed to give clinicians working with adults who have ADHD another tool to support their patients.
Zylowska, who is a psychiatrist and an Associate Professor in the U’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, pioneered the use of mindfulness for ADHD. She conducted the first feasibility study of mindfulness training for adults and teens with ADHD at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Zylowska would eventually help cofound UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center and led the development of the Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) for ADHD Program. Her own peer-reviewed research and other studies from throughout the world have shown the usefulness of mindfulness-based interventions (also referred to as MBIs) for ADHD.
Why mindfulness works
“When clinicians treat adults with ADHD using stimulants or cognitive behavioral therapy, they don’t always get optimal results,” Zylowska explained. “Mindfulness can address many of ADHD’s difficulties by teaching one to focus and monitor attention, learn emotion-regulation skills, and develop self-acceptance and self-compassion.” Available studies show that core ADHD symptoms — inattentiveness and hyperactivity/impulsivity — can improve with mindfulness training. Additional benefits in executive function measures, performance on attentional tasks, and reduction in negative emotions have also been found.
A subset of those with ADHD also struggle with shame or negative and impulsive emotions such as anger, noted Zylowska. “There is growing recognition in the field that emotion regulation difficulties create a lot of impairment in ADHD,” she said. “That’s where mindfulness can be really helpful.”
Clinicians could also benefit from treatment options such as mindfulness for adults who do not or only partially respond to current ADHD treatments and/or those who experience medication side effects. They also need a roadmap for how to use mindfulness. Zylowska’s book gives them that roadmap.
Practical tools
According to the publisher, Mindfulness for Adult ADHD: A Clinician’s Guide, includes step-by-step instructions for conducting group-based mindfulness sessions, scripts for guided meditations, 33 reproducible handouts, and “Adaptation for Individual Therapy” insert boxes that provide tips about bringing mindfulness training into one-on-one therapy. Purchasers also get access to a companion website where they can download printable copies of the handouts and audio recordings of the guided practices. In addition, the book helps clinicians learn more about ADHD and its many facets, according to Zylowska.
ADHD-friendly approach
Because meditation is such an important part of mindfulness training and those with ADHD aren’t known for their ability to stay still for long periods of time, the book takes what Zylowska calls an “ADHD-friendly” approach to teaching. “The MAPs approach was designed to be very gradual, starting with short practices,” she said. “We also include a variety of practices that range from sitting to moving, from formal to informal.” The informal mindfulness practice — or practicing brief shifts in awareness in daily life — is particularly helpful, according to Zylowska. “Those with ADHD learn to notice how their habitual or automatic ADHD behaviors occur in their daily activities and have an opportunity to change their reaction or behavior,” she explained.
Zylowska wrote the book with John T. Russell, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and a faculty member in Duke’s ADHD Program. She and Russell had collaborated on ADHD and mindfulness research over many years.
“The value of mindfulness for ADHD, as well as for other mental and physical conditions, is that it teaches the ability to bring attention and awareness to inner experiences, develops self-acceptance and self-compassion, and in the process, leads to better emotion-regulation skills,” said Zylowska. “This combination can have a tremendous impact on how ADHD and related stress is experienced and leads to increased resilience.”
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Mindfulness for Adult ADHD : A Clinician’s Guide
To look inside this book Click Here
Mindfulness has emerged as a valuable component of treatment for adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This concise manual presents an evidence-based group intervention specifically tailored to the needs of this population.
The Mindful Awareness Practices for ADHD (MAPs) program helps participants cultivate self-regulation of attention, emotions, and behavior; awareness of ADHD challenges; self-acceptance; and self-compassion.
With a stepwise teaching approach and meditation periods that are shorter than in other mindfulness programs, MAPs is designed to optimize learning.
Included are step-by-step instructions for conducting the eight sessions, scripts for guided meditations, 33 reproducible handouts, and “Adaptation for Individual Therapy” boxes.
Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download printable copies of the handouts and audio recordings of the guided practices.
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the Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD
To look inside the book, Click Here
Also available as an audio book Click Here
This book details Dr. Zylowska’s 8-step program, which includes practices such as sitting meditation, body awareness, thoughtful speaking and listening, development of self-acceptance, mindful self-coaching, cultivation of a balanced view of thoughts and emotions, and more.
The book is accompanied by a CD audio program:
- Mindful Breathing
- Sound, Breath, and Body
- Body Scan
- Mindful Walking
- Mind Like a Sky
- RAIN
- Loving Kindness
- Mindful Presence
The audio program is also available to listen to on the publisher’s website Click Here
Praise for the book:
“A superb book, an important book, a book that breaks new ground. Anyone who is interested in the treatment of ADHD in adults must own this. Rigorous in its research, accessible in its style, convincing in its argument, and novel in its premise, this books keeps its promise of offering a reliable mindfulness prescription. I hugely recommend this book!”
– Edward Hallowell, M.D. founder of Hallowell Centers, author of Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distractions
“This book offers an exciting new approach that will enhance standard medical treatments for ADHD. Mindfulness-a universal capacity to direct attention-can enable us to more effectively control our brain and its responses. I highly recommend this book to all who want to become more focused, organized, and mindfully aware.”
– Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D., UCLA School of Medicine, author of You Are Not Your Brain
We are proud to announce that “The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD” received CHADD National Award for 2012 Most Innovative Program of the Year.
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