Hello all! Adrienne is away this week so I’ll be temporarily filling in for her this week.
For this week’s ADHD group session Michael Finnegan of Pursuit therapy took the wheel. Michael has been a long time speaker for Impart therapy’s various groups so it was a treat to hear him speak once more. Michael kicked things off by defining a handful of key terms and concepts before speaking on how individuals with ADHD often have a unique and nuanced relationship with stimulation and activity levels. Critical to this was an exploration of how those who have ADHD often respond to stimuli in fundamentally different ways than those who are neurotypical and can have a difficult time feeling that initial impetus or kickstart when beginning tasks or maintaining sustained attention. In exploring further, Michael gave a brief outline about some of the neurotransmitters that act as the big players in the generation and regulation of activity and physiological arousal. These included dopamine, norepinephrine, cortisol and BDF.
Following up on this, Michael applied what we had discussed thus far to the Inverted U model of physiological arousal. In a nutshell, this model proposes that we have an optimal “sweet spot” of physiological arousal whereby we are able to function. Under this model, too little results in us becoming lethargic and unable to initiate and sustain any activity while too much results in an inability for us to focus on one thing at a time as we endlessly bounce between topics. This framework of the inverted U was really central for this talk as it both gave everyone a baseline understanding of the process that make it easier or more difficult to sustain our attention and set the stage for discussion on what we can do to try and (as much as possible) stay within this “sweet spot” of the inverted U. Michael spoke about how we can achieve this through a combination of activities for up-regulation and down-regulation (in other words, activities we can do to excite and calm ourselves respectfully).
When it came to up-regulation, one technique that took center stage was that of exercise. In short, exercise’s benefits when it comes to helping us remain focused are multifaceted and agnostic. With a little bit of consistent exercise going a long way to helping us stay focused. For down-regulation, this practice consists of practices such as breathwork, sensory reduction and slower and non-stressful movement (e.g., going for a walk, stretching, yoga exercises etc.). One thing that I really loved about this part of Michael’s presentation was how he emphasized that, so long you’re doing it safely and in accordance to your bodies’ needs, it doesn’t matter what exercise you do so long as you do it. I think this is a fantastic approach to things and engenders meeting people where they’re at and respecting their present capabilities rather than applying arbitrary standards.
Finally, to wrap things up, Michael outlined a couple templates by which we can use and tweak and tune to help engage in up and down regulating activities safely and effectively. What really impressed me here was that these templates were customized around various age groups and contained what to look out as indicators of things going wrong or being suboptimal.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Hopefully by next Adrienne is back and you’ll be hearing from her. Till then, take care!
About Spencer Jones
Spencer is currently completing his master’s of Counselling Psychology with Yorkville University, on practicum with Impart Therapy. He works with teens and adults who are struggling with anxiety, depression, and stress. Please visit here to learn more about Spencer Jones.