What Do Clients with ADHD Teach Us about All Relationships & Sex Lives? (4 CE Hours)

ADHD doesn’t create unique challenges for couples—it just exacerbates the universal struggles that everyone faces in their relationship and sex life. All couples need to resolve differences in priorities, preferences, and ways of being in order to create a satisfying life together. When ADHD is undiagnosed or not well managed, it can create seemingly insurmountable disagreements where both partners feel right, but neither is happy and the therapist feels just as powerless to change it.

Adults with ADHD are over-represented in therapy offices, especially couples/sex therapy, because of the many ways that it can impact relationship functioning, yet there is little available for clinicians on how to work most effectively with this interesting population. ADHD is a neurologically-based information processing disorder, but it has significant psychological effects on how a person sees themselves, addresses challenges, and interacts with others. This then impacts how that adult with ADHD behaves in intimate relationships—which then impacts how their romantic partner behaves, as well, making certain dynamics more likely. Couples who have additional struggles by day can benefit all the more from the benefits of a good connection at night. As much as untreated ADHD can make the relationship and sex life much less satisfying for both partners, it tends to respond well to the right treatments.

• Apply a more useful model of ADHD to help clients better understand and manage it.
• Discuss how to facilitate a conversation with clients about what expect of medication for ADHD.
• Explain the many ways that ADHD can impact both partners in a couple and the common dynamics that ensue.
• Describe a deeper understanding of ADHD, relationship dynamics, and sexuality to work more effectively with these clients to improve both their relationship and sex life.