Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities

The purpose of this article is to outline the therapeutic model employed in working with individuals with ADHD, grounded in the principles of PPT. It is based on the five stages of the therapeutic process. An important element is the integration of the concept of secondary capacities into psych...

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Main Author: Anna Jaźwińska-Chren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: WAPP 2025-07-01
Series:The Global Psychotherapist
Online Access:https://www.positum.org/ppt_artticles/jazwinska-chren-a-2025/
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author Anna Jaźwińska-Chren
author_facet Anna Jaźwińska-Chren
author_sort Anna Jaźwińska-Chren
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this article is to outline the therapeutic model employed in working with individuals with ADHD, grounded in the principles of PPT. It is based on the five stages of the therapeutic process. An important element is the integration of the concept of secondary capacities into psychoeducation and therapeutic dialogue. This article explores how the concept of secondary capacities – socially reinforced qualities such as punctuality, reliability, and self-control – can both illuminate and complicate the therapeutic process. Drawing on clinical experience and practical strategies, we reflect on the importance of reframing ADHD-related struggles not as moral failings but as tensions between neurological predispositions and cultural expectations. Using the described model in therapeutic work with people with a diagnosis of ADHD facilitates depersonalization of symptoms. It opens a space for changing the narrative about the self from a perspective of compassion rather than guilt. With this perspective, therapy becomes not only a space for coping with symptoms but also for identity reconstruction, self-compassion, and meaningful personal growth.
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spelling doaj-art-21aa9701ae4e4a2497eebdca7cf740c62025-08-20T03:17:40ZengWAPPThe Global Psychotherapist2710-14602025-07-0152879710.52982/lkj277Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary CapacitiesAnna Jaźwińska-Chrenhttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-1970-7328 The purpose of this article is to outline the therapeutic model employed in working with individuals with ADHD, grounded in the principles of PPT. It is based on the five stages of the therapeutic process. An important element is the integration of the concept of secondary capacities into psychoeducation and therapeutic dialogue. This article explores how the concept of secondary capacities – socially reinforced qualities such as punctuality, reliability, and self-control – can both illuminate and complicate the therapeutic process. Drawing on clinical experience and practical strategies, we reflect on the importance of reframing ADHD-related struggles not as moral failings but as tensions between neurological predispositions and cultural expectations. Using the described model in therapeutic work with people with a diagnosis of ADHD facilitates depersonalization of symptoms. It opens a space for changing the narrative about the self from a perspective of compassion rather than guilt. With this perspective, therapy becomes not only a space for coping with symptoms but also for identity reconstruction, self-compassion, and meaningful personal growth.https://www.positum.org/ppt_artticles/jazwinska-chren-a-2025/
spellingShingle Anna Jaźwińska-Chren
Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities
The Global Psychotherapist
title Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities
title_full Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities
title_fullStr Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities
title_full_unstemmed Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities
title_short Working with Clients with ADHD: Reflections on Secondary Capacities
title_sort working with clients with adhd reflections on secondary capacities
url https://www.positum.org/ppt_artticles/jazwinska-chren-a-2025/
work_keys_str_mv AT annajazwinskachren workingwithclientswithadhdreflectionsonsecondarycapacities