New therapy for ADHD cut putting things off no more than the usual one
Who it’s about: ADHD, Adults, People with a health condition
- No differenceProcrastination
Group therapy with tools to get organised and start tasks cut putting things off no more than standard group therapy.
- Action: Split a big task into piecestested
- Action: Plan your weektested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
- Rule: In weekly sessionsused
Randomised trial of 108 adults with the inattentive type of ADHD · vs a standard group therapy for ADHD · they rated themselves · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show; numbers unreliable
- HelpedOther outcomes
Tools to get organised and skills to start and stop tasks got people more active than standard therapy.
- Action: Split a big task into piecestested
- Action: Plan your weektested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
- Rule: In weekly sessionsused
Randomised trial of 108 adults with the inattentive type of ADHD · vs a standard group therapy for ADHD · they rated themselves · ⚠ summary claims more than the results show; numbers unreliable
The study
Who took part
108 adults with the inattentive type of ADHD at six mental health clinics in Stockholm, Sweden. They were about 36 on average, and 6 in 10 were women.
What they did
One group had 14 weekly 2-hour group sessions. They learned to use a calendar, to-do lists and routines, and to split big tasks into pieces. They also learned mindfulness and skills for starting and stopping tasks. The other group had a standard 14-week group therapy for ADHD on unhelpful thoughts and habits. Both groups got phone calls between sessions.
What happened
Both groups said they put things off less at the end, but neither group did clearly better than the other. People in the new therapy did more of their everyday activities than those in the standard one. The study had fewer people than planned, and the paper describes the putting-off results as stronger than its own tests show.
Source
Cognitive behavioral therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: randomized controlled trial of two psychological treatments (2025)
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1564506 (opens in a new tab)
