Clinical Challenges in the Psychoanalytic Treatment of ADHD Patients: A Commentary on Dr. Whitman’s Case Presentation

ABSTRACT

This discussion focuses on a two-year psychoanalytic treatment case of a college student diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) presented by a psychoanalytic training institute candidate. The complex clinical presentation of individuals with ADHD symptoms, attunement of the analyst to unconscious processes, and competent supervision that provides the analyst with opportunities to explore the intersection of these factors serve as a context for the ensuing discussion. The discussion highlights how the importance of the therapeutic climate, the analyst’s recognition of the pervasiveness of shame among individuals with ADHD symptoms, and the use of transference are key contributors to the success of the treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• ADHD
• psychoanalytic
• shame
• transference

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Francine Conway

Francine Conway, PhD is an accomplished scholar and clinical psychologist recognized for her work in child psychopathology, and is the dean of the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Conway, a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University, earned her doctoral degree from the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University. Conway has treated children with a range of behavioral problems in hospital settings and private practice for over 20 years. She has gained national and international recognition for her work on the psychodynamic treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, collaborating with colleagues nationally and internationally. She serves as the research editor for the Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy. Conway continues to gain national prominence in translational presentations of her research and clinical work with children diagnosed with ADHD through national forums, such as her TEDx talk “Cultivating Compassion for the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Child: Shifting Our Stance from Moral Indictment to Empathy” and through her book “Cultivating Compassion: A Psychodynamic Understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” published by Rowman & Littlefield.