Treating a College-Aged Patient with Neuropsychological Problems and ADHD: Discussion of Dr. Whitman’s Analysis of Mark

ABSTRACT

The central thesis of this discussion is that an adolescent psychoanalyst—someone who understands development, developmental interference, unconscious conflict, and neuropsychiatric impairment—is especially well-suited to treat patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and behavior problems. Candidates in such training programs are provided with the didactic instruction and supervision necessary to grasp the kind of multimodal treatment approach that is necessary for these patients. A focus on enhancing inner processing and reflectiveness, building the tools for strengthening executive functioning, and clearing away maladaptive defenses all help to stimulate feelings of becoming an active agent on one’s own behalf. Furthermore, facilitating integration and activating the questioning and evaluating parts of one’s mind to reshape inner standards and values is a principal component of the therapeutic work. This also includes separating from primitive parental introjects, which creates more stable autonomy and the ability to face one’s limitations in small doses, thus leading to amelioration through new experience and the transforming of emotions into modulated, helpful signals.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflectiveness
• affect regulation
• self-esteem
• defense analysis

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wendy Olesker

Wendy Olesker, PhD is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute and on the faculty at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. She is a Senior Editor of The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child and on the editorial board of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis.