What is ADHD CBT?

CBT stands for ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’ and it is a type of talking therapy. Adult ADHD CBT is very different to the typical Anxiety CBT – a common treatment offered by the NHS which normally focuses on mild anxiety or depression.

ADHD CBT is a behavioural course of counselling that specifically deals with symptoms and executive function difficulties which people with ADHD struggle with. For example, inattention and its impact on daily tasks. Ideally, the therapist has experience and is aware of adult ADHD. From our experience of meeting people at our ADHD support groups, many people have found ADHD CBT to be very helpful and much more effective than just medication on its own (but may have previously been discouraged by CBT that was not designed for someone with neurodiversity, so it is important to stress that you receive appropriate care with your health practitioners). ADHD CBT is available through the NHS and is typically 10 – 14 sessions rather than the 6 that are provided for standard Anxiety CBT.

How to access ADHD CBT on the NHS

It is helpful that the NICE Guideline for NHS England recommends for ADHD alternative treatments to medication, such as ADHD CBT, to be available. However, the reality of the situation is that very few areas provide any service. Some areas may not provide CBT, but may have an ADHD nurse or ADHD coach that provides a similar service. A good place to find out about services in your area is to go to a local peer support group.

If you think you would benefit from ADHD CBT, we encourage you to request it. If the service is not available in your area, you can request an ‘out of area referral' to the National ADHD Clinic at the Maudsley Hospital, London. An ‘out of area’ referral is a special referral that causes your local NHS to have a funding meeting that determines, on a case-by-case basis, whether a service for that patient will be funded. From our experience with peer support groups, most ‘out of area’ referrals are successful, or the local NHS makes special arrangements locally to provide that service to that patient.

If you are also taking medication, and your request is challenged on these grounds, it can be helpful to demonstrate that you are still impaired in an aspect of functioning and state that ADHD CBT will address this; the NICE Guidelines state that for ADHD alternative treatments to medication must be provided.

Requesting ADHD CBT is not only very effective in terms of improving symptoms, but requesting the service also sends a message to the NHS that there is a demand for this service.  For many people, when they have ADHD CBT, it is the first time they have spoken to any therapist who understands and acknowledges ADHD; for many people, this can be life-changing.