Comments on: Mindfulness Meditation for Adults & Teens with ADHD

By: Dag A. Solberg

Dag A. Solberg — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:53:47 +0000

Thank you for giving me a review of this interesting topic. I work as a specialist in Family medicine i Norway. Unfortunately this method is not discussed very much among experts in my country. I attended a course on mindfullness 3 weeks ago, which opened my eyes of the possibilities of this approach.
I have a question for you;

Mindfullness is known for opening up for strong emotions and at the same time making it possible to tolerate an emotion, a memory, without fleeing, without shutting it out. This , I think , may be an effecient way of accepting difficult emotiona. However; many patients have a history of abuse and hard losses in their lives. What criteriaes do you use in order to avoid Too strong reactions, and what do you think is the best way to find the “right” patients?

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:36:15 +0000

Thank you for this article sheding light on the possibilities for meditation to help with ADHD.

I’m just curious, why is the ADHD research on Neurofeedback criticized by Dr. Rabiner for
1. not having large enough participants
2. not using adequate controls
3. not offering randomized controlled trials?

…when this mindfulness study was likewise small, suggested no significant controls, and appearently was not randomized? But there’s no mention of the need for better controls and bigger studies here.

Here is his article on Neurofeedback:
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/01/25/how-strong-is-the-research-support-for-neurofeedback-treatment-of-children-with-adhd/

I’m not a supporter of Neurofeedback and actually do not believe that it’s the solution to ADHD. I feel that effective meditation (though not necessarily mindfulness) is a much better route.

I’m just interested in the different treatment of this study, compared to Dr. Rabiner’s accessment of Neurofeedback, for which there are actually more peer-reviewed controlled studies than mindfulness for ADHD. It seems Dr. Rabiner was much more scrutinizing of the NF research than he is of research on mindfulness. I’m sure he has a good reason but am very curious. Is he a Buddhist? Is he into mindfulness himself and therefore more favorable to it?

By: Alvaro Fernandez

Alvaro Fernandez — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:50:02 +0000

Michael, I agree. Learning how to manage attention and regulate emotions would help many kids (and adults) be more productive and happy.

By: Michael Ballard

Michael Ballard — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:31:36 +0000

Thank you for this. Quite correctly this is not a panacea .
However I’ve found that teaching and coaching children, youth and adults Mindfulness, Relaxation Response skills and meditation ( I know where does one start and the others end) helps them gain a sense of control over their inner world. A very valuable commodity these days.

By: Alvaro

Alvaro — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:40:02 +0000

Elisha: I agree, nothing is a panacea. But it is very goodd news that we have tools at our disposal.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

By: Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:32:38 +0000

Hi Alvaro,
It’s important to first preface that mindfulness is not a panacea, but is a skillful way to approach many of our challenges in daily life. With that said, it’s not for everyone at the time they come in for support. So, it hasn’t been smooth all the time, however, more and more I am seeing a greater acceptance to actually practice. Follow through can be an issue, but then that is gris for the mill as we discuss what got in the way of practice which creates a growing awareness for the following experiences. A big part of this is noticing when you’re becoming judgmental and being harsh on yourself for not being able to attend. This only serves to create more chaos in the brain and get in the way. With cultivating a non-judgmental awareness to our awareness , we become more skillful at paying attention to the things we want to and living the lives we want.

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

By: Alvaro

Alvaro — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:50:33 +0000

Kiersten, thank you for your visit. Nice to “meet” you.

Nina: your brother may benefit from visiting a good doctor, and probably a neuropsychologist. No general advice is enough to help one very specific case.

Elisha: thank you for sharing your experience. Have you found specific challenges working with people with attention deficits, or have you had a smooth experience engaging them with mindfulness?

By: Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:22:07 +0000

I have also been working with teens and adults who have various challenges, one off them being ADHD. As a Mindfulness Teacher and Psychologist in West Los Angeles, I use these practices to help support them with a more nonjudgmental form of attention control. They usually come out with more than just the relief of ADHD symptoms, but also with an expanded sense of compassion for themselves and deeper connection with life. The reason is this goes beyond training the mind but can be considered a training for advanced liveing . Thank you for this article.

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

By: Nina

Nina — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:10:42 +0000

My younger brother who is 25 yrs is suffering from ADHD he was diagnosed of the same at the age of 15 years and was treated on ritalin for 7 months. After which he was suffering from severe blinking of the eye after consuming the medicine. Which was the only side effect. Now he has a job but his concentration to the job (working as a front office executive in a 5 star hotel) is minimal. Is there any way I can get any help in getting him treated completely of this disorder?
——————

Nina

By: Kiersten Marek

Kiersten Marek — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:28:04 +0000

FYI — I also posted this on my homepage site, Kmareka, and there were some good reader comments:

http://kmareka.com/?p=1852