Psychoeducation (+++)

• 1. Books, websites, seminars, lectures, films
• 2. Self-help groups, forums

1. Books, websites, seminars, lectures, films¶

Knowledge about people with ADHD helps them in several ways

• Who am I, what about me is ADHD?
  Recognizing which symptoms stem from ADHD and that these are treatable makes it easier to identify your own personality: who you “actually” are without this ADHD. This differentiation helps to learn to accept oneself and to understand ADHD symptoms as something that is inherent but not unchangeable. This is helpful for the often very impaired self-esteem of people with ADHD.
• Handling requires knowledge
  Understanding the symptoms, their causes and their effects makes it possible to deal with them in a helpful way, in particular:
  • The choice of suitable treatment methods
  • Environmental interventions (see above)
• Understanding others
  Knowing what constitutes ADHD, how it affects perception and action, helps to understand other people. People with ADHD, who have never known anything else as normal all their lives, can recognize why other people feel and act differently where they do not have ADHD symptoms.
• Knowledge facilitates renewal of the self-concept
  A person with ADHD who has experienced a lifetime of rejection because they are not what they should be can begin to rebuild their self-esteem, which has usually been completely destroyed by then, by understanding that most of the negative reactions were not triggered by themselves but by ADHD¹
• Limit: Avoid negative bias
  The danger of self-fulfilling prophecies should be recognized and avoided.
  Unreflective identification with ADHD symptoms can be harmful.
  You are not ADHD - you have ADHD.
  No person with ADHD has all the symptoms of the cluster.
• Using the advantages of ADHD
  In some specific circumstances and aspects, people with ADHD have an advantage over people without ADHD. This advantage can only be exploited if you know the conditions under which the advantages apply.

A meta-analysis of k = 8 studies with n = 591 participants found a positive effect of group psychoeducation.²

2. Self-help groups, forums¶

• Knowledge about ADHD reduces the level of suffering
  • If necessary, a professionally led/supported group is advantageous, especially for newcomers
• Valuable experience of not being alone
• Improvement in dealing with symptom/stress triggers
• Improving the use of stress avoidance techniques
• Improving the use of stress reduction techniques
• Self-help groups can be found here, among other places:
  • Germany:
    • <http://www.adhs-deutschland.de/Home/Unser-Angebot/Selbsthilfegruppen/Bundesweites-Netz-von-Selbsthilfegruppen.aspx&gt
    • <https://www.mehr-vom-tag.de/rat-service-hilfe/adhs-selbsthilfegruppen/&gt
    • https://www.familie-mit-adhs.de/unterst%C3%BCtzung/selbsthilfe/selbsthilfegruppen/
    • In the adhs-forum.adxs.org there are virtual self-help groups and new virtual self-help groups (also on special topics) can be set up via the ADxS’ own video server.
  • Austria
    • https://adapt.at/unsere-angebote/#self-help-groups
    • https://team-adhs.at/unsere-angebote
  • Switzerland:
    • https://www.selbsthilfeschweiz.ch/shch/de/selbsthilfe-gesucht/suche.html
    • https://elpos.ch/adhs-gespraechsgruppen/
    • https://www.adhs-ads-schweiz.ch/?page_id=1832
• The largest German-language forum on ADHD can be found at adhs-forum.adxs.org(more than 6,000 members, more than 70,000 unique visitors/month; as of 11/2023)