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This study provided by Cogmed is not conclusive by any stretch of the imagination.  Reading the whole article is recommended and I think you will agree with me that this experiment was inconclusive.  www.cogmed.com is the link to take you to their website at which point you can sign up for the newsletter or just read the study that interests you.

My thoughts on this study may strike some as negative however I think I’m just being realistic.  Not every single ADDer has poor self-image nor do they all believe themselves to be stupid.  I did participate in cognitive behaviour therapy for one year and even though I could plainly see the merits in the therapy I could also plainly see that I did not have the self-esteem issues this therapy targets.  Teaching me how to change my negative mindset and replace it with more realistic facts was not my problem.  My knowledge about myself is based on observation and I possess some very realistic, practical methods for living with my quirky self:)  I have a very supportive, patient, understanding spouse and we both feel that whatever executive function I lack is not even worth a blip on the radar of our happiness.  In our home, if you do something well, then it falls to you to see that it gets done…simple.  If no one in the family is naturally capable of doing something, we put our heads together and find a solution if needed.  No big deal!

The people used in this study suffered from depression, anxiety etc., secondary conditions caused by the tendency of people to “beat themselves up for not being perfect.”  People with negative self-talk, negative outlooks on life in general and people who do not have a great support system.  So, in this case, I agree that CBT is the way to go…teaching skills about how to problem solve issues that crop up because of lack of ability is certainly worthwhile and necessary.  And it will certainly be successful, highly successful, showing significant changes in these people.

When I was in therapy, I was there because of a misdiagnosis by the doctor; clinical depression was his take on what was going on with me and prescribing antidepressants was his thing.  He couldn’t understand why they didn’t work, and he was strangely insistent that my symptoms could not be related to anything else.  No matter how many times I told him I did not suffer any feelings of sadness, hopelessness nor any depression he chose not to take what I was saying at face value.  (I was also found to have PTSD and Dis-associative disorder as well as SPD) My therapist was able to clue in to the fact that I was not depressive, that what she was seeing was a highly intelligent woman with an extremely short attention span, physical fatigue and creative tendencies.  She was the person that diagnosed the ADD inattentive type, she pushed my family doctor to test and treat.  Once I started the medication for ADD, I improved significantly and our 1 hour sessions became fascinating for her and boring for me:)  As for the PTSD and Disassociation…I worked through that with the help of my older siblings with memories of my early years.  All I needed was the facts.  The mind is a wonderful thing and dissociating you from the nightmare you are forced to live as a child is, in my opinion, the best protection available.

So, to recap, this study is good for those with co-morbid conditions caused by problematic ways of thinking, i.e., “I’m such an idiot, moron etc. negative self-talk when something goes wrong.”  If your secondary issues are not related to unhealthy problem solving techniques, then CBT will not have a positive influence on your situation.