From Jackson Pollock to psychic blades: Climbing the semiotic ladder in working with children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Abstract

Psychodynamic psychotherapy has not been considered to be the treatment of choice for children with an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. In fact, as Gilmore ( 2000) and Salomonsson ( 2004) have pointed out, psychoanalysts are reluctant to accept children with such symptom presentation for treatment. Over the past 15 years, however, a number of articles have offered a better understanding of the subjective states of children with ADHD and provided evidence that psychoanalytic-and psychodynamic-based interventions can be effective in reducing many of the symptoms children with ADHD display while also increasing their capacity to reflect on their own experiences and the mental states of others.