Published 12/2020. Mindfulness has emerged as a valuable component of treatment for adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This concise manual presents an evidence-based group intervention specifically tailored to the needs of this population. The Mindful Awareness Practices for ADHD (MAPs) program helps participants cultivate self-regulation of attention, emotions, and behavior; awareness of ADHD challenges; self-acceptance; and self-compassion. With a stepwise teaching approach and meditation periods that are shorter than in other mindfulness programs, MAPs is designed to optimize learning. Included are step-by-step instructions for conducting the eight sessions, scripts for guided meditations, 33 reproducible handouts, and “Adaptation for Individual Therapy” boxes. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download printable copies of the handouts and audio recordings of the guided practices.
Reviews
“If you want to teach mindfulness in your clinical practice with adults with ADHD, then this is clearly the best book for achieving this. Spelled out in exquisite detail is not only the compelling rationale for the use of this approach to symptomatic management of adult ADHD, but also the step-by-step instructions for doing so.…I congratulate the authors for setting forth here so detailed a clinical manual as to make it relatively easy and straightforward to implement the MAPs approach to ADHD management in a convenient, easily understood, and now widely available format.”
—from the Foreword by Russell A. Barkley, PhD, ABPP, ABCN, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
“Until now, clinicians who wanted to use mindfulness in treating adult ADHD have had to cobble together ideas and skills from various sources, most often not adapted to the unique features of this disorder. Zylowska and Mitchell have produced a clinician-friendly, evidence-based guide for tailoring mindfulness skills for adults with ADHD. The book presents an effective group approach that can be adapted for use with individuals. This exciting resource is complete with supporting research, implementation guidelines, and mindfulness exercises, and will be a go-to guide for clinicians for years to come.”
—J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Co-Director, Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
“A wonderful, much-needed resource for clinicians who treat adults with ADHD. The authors provide specific suggestions for talking with patients about mindfulness and how it can help. The book describes ways to adapt mindfulness exercises to be more palatable to those with ADHD, and present instructions for conducting the program in a group or individual context. The approach described in this book can be used either as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or medication treatment. I highly recommend this book.”
—Susan Sprich, PhD, Director, CBT Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
“How can the healing potential of mindfulness—which helps us stabilize attention amidst competing and insistent mental demands—be harnessed by people with attention difficulties? This book provides the definitive answer. Zylowska and Mitchell’s expertise is evident on every page of this accessible treatment manual. Crafted with care and precision, the book encompasses psychoeducation, guidelines for teachers, customized mindful awareness practices, and individual session curricula. Clinicians will be supported and ably guided in their work with adults with ADHD.”
—Zindel V. Segal, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders, University of Toronto–Scarborough, Canada
