Family Therapy for ADHD: From Childhood Through Launching
By understanding how the executive function deficits impact daily functioning and how that makes certain family dynamics more likely, therapists will be able to help these families navigate the daily challenges more effectively in order to reduce conflict, foster understanding of ADHD, and support agency to prepare young adults for launching into college and beyond. This will take the therapist out of the middle of the endless tug of wars and give them a framework to help these families.
Kids, teens, and young adults with ADHD can put parents (and therapists) in a bind – should they be given more oversight to ensure success or more freedom to learn on their own? Although kids and teens with ADHD have understandable desires for independence, the developmental delays in executive functions associated with ADHD can significantly impact their ability to do the right things at the right times. This then understandably evokes more oversight, restrictions, checking, and even criticism from parents. Unfortunately, well intentioned lectures from parents (or therapists) and heart-felt promises from the child or teen don’t lead to the lasting change that everyone is hoping for.
Learn how to:
- Understand ADHD’s impact on self-regulation, executive function, and time perception
- Reduce chaos and strengthen focus with practical environmental strategies
- Support academic success through structure, communication, and consistent follow-through
- Apply effective parenting approaches that balance expectations, consequences, and empathy
- Navigate medication options and their role in bridging the gap between intentions and actions
- Prepare teens and young adults for independence with “failable experiments,” gap year planning, and success habits for college life
- Foster self-awareness and agency in individuals with ADHD
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Pay once for lifetime access.
Course Duration: 3 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Lifetime Access: Your access to the course does not expire, so you can revisit key concepts anytime you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
When your adult clients with ADHD struggle to follow through on treatment plans, or when ADHD strains a couple's intimacy and communication, you need strategies that work in real-world practice. Ari Tuckman has spent more than 25 years translating ADHD science into practical tools that help clinicians support adults, couples, and families navigating attention challenges, executive function gaps, and relationship friction.
Dr. Tuckman is the author of five books on ADHD, including ADHD After Dark (2019) and The ADHD Productivity Manual (2024), and was inducted into the CHADD Hall of Fame in 2023 for his contributions to the field.
His work has reached audiences on CNN and National Public Radio and has been cited in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. He hosts the podcast More Attention, Less Deficit, which has delivered over 600 episodes and more than two million downloads to clinicians and families worldwide.
In his West Chester, Pennsylvania, private practice, Dr. Tuckman works with adults living with ADHD, as well as couples and families affected by attention and executive function challenges. His clinical focus spans ADHD diagnosis and treatment, executive function coaching, couples therapy, and sex therapy — particularly how ADHD shapes intimacy, desire, and relationship dynamics.
He also writes the Sex Matters blog on PsychologyToday.com, where he explores the intersection of ADHD and sexuality in accessible, stigma-free language.
Dr. Tuckman's teaching emphasises psychoeducation and skill-building that clinicians can apply immediately. He has delivered more than 350 presentations to professionals and the public across the United States and internationally in Sweden, Turkey, Greece, Mexico, England, Spain, Denmark, Canada, and Iceland.
He has served as conference committee co-chair for CHADD's annual International Conference on ADHD and regularly leads full-day continuing education seminars and Ask the Expert webinars.
His approach is grounded in helping clients understand their brains first, then build systems that match how ADHD brains actually work, rather than fighting against them.
Whether you're refining your assessment protocols, coaching clients on productivity, or helping couples navigate ADHD-related conflict, Dr. Tuckman's frameworks offer clear, evidence-informed steps you can teach and adapt.
For clinicians, his courses and materials provide concrete intervention strategies, scripts for psychoeducation, and tools to address the executive function deficits that undermine treatment gains. You'll learn how to support clients in managing time, organising tasks, sustaining attention, and regulating emotions — and how to help couples repair trust and intimacy when one or both partners have ADHD.
Dr. Tuckman has also served as vice president of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), as a board member of CHADD, and as a facilitator for adult and teen ADHD support groups in Northern Virginia and Chester County, Pennsylvania. His advocacy work earned him CHADD Northern Virginia's Professional of the Year award in 2005.
He contributes regularly to ADDitude Magazine and Attention Magazine, keeping the ADHD clinical community informed on emerging research and practical innovations.
Qualifications
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Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
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Master of Business Administration (MBA)
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Certified Sex Therapist (CST)
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Licensed psychologist in private practice
Selected Books
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The ADHD Productivity Manual (2024)
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ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship (2019)
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Understand Your Brain, Get More Done: The ADHD Executive Functions Workbook (2012)
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More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD (2009)
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Integrative Treatment for Adult ADHD: A Practical, Easy-to-Use Guide for Clinicians (2007)
Teaching & Roles
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Conference committee co-chair, CHADD International Conference on ADHD
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Former vice president, Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)
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Former board member, CHADD
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Frequent international speaker (350+ presentations across nine countries)
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Faculty, Coach Approach Training Institute
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 2
- Topics 0
- Duration 3 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English