The Use of Trauma Counseling for Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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The Use of Trauma Counseling for Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Audrey M. Pottinger
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at risk for behavioral problems and so are frequently brought to the attention of counselors. The literature is limited, however, in examining specific counseling techniques for this population, and particularly in discussing counseling in a developing country where children do not readily access mental health services. Based on parallels in symptoms between children with ADHD and those with violence exposure, the author has adapted the components of a trauma intervention model and applied it to counseling children with ADHD in Jamaica. This article examines a structured counseling approach based on the trauma model, and concludes with a discussion on the usefulness and limitations of this approach in regard to children with ADHD. Keywords Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder . Violence exposure . Trauma intervention . Counseling intervention . Jamaica
Introduction A frequently diagnosed mental health problem of children globally is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Furman 2005); a disorder involving inappropriate and disruptive behaviors that are challenging to manage and which can require creative counseling approaches (Portrie-Bethke et al. 2009). Whilst a review of the literature identifies several specific psychosocial interventions, such as parent training in behavior management, that are efficacious in managing ADHD symptoms (Chronis, Jones, and Raggi 2006), an approach that guides counselors on how to counsel the child is missing. Further, there are marginalized populations of families with children, such as those living with violence, who have ADHD and who are in need of counseling intervention but who are unable or unwilling to access appropriate counseling services (Tucker and Dixon 2009).
A. M. Pottinger (*) Department of Child and Adolescent Health, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica e-mail: [email protected]
Int J Adv Counselling
Violence Exposure and ADHD From an epidemiological perspective, children exposed to traumatic events and displaying ADHD symptoms are common in children in psychiatric samples. This circumstance has spurred a growing body of research examining whether the cognitive and emotional disruptions that occur in children who are exposed to chronic violence overlap with symptoms of ADHD; also whether violence exposure is a risk factor for the development of ADHD (Adler, Kunz, Chua, Rotrosen, and Resnick 2004; Briscoe-Smith and Hinshaw 2006; Husain, Allwood, and Bell 2008; Szymanski, Sapanski, and Conway 2011; Wozniak et al. 1999). Researchers have increasingly highlighted children’s exposure to violence in Jamaica (Pottinger 2012), a developing country with growing levels of trauma since the 1980s, often in regard to aggression and community violence (Harriott 2003; Moser and Holland 1997). Some
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