ADHD, Relationships, and Sex: Strategies to Overcome the Over/Under-Functioner Dynamic

CPD

Speaker

Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA Related seminars and products

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Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA is a psychologist, international presenter, author, and ADHD thought leader. He has given more than 900 presentations and podcast interviews and routinely earns excellent reviews for his ability to make complicated information understandable and useful. Over the course of twenty-five years of private practice, he has done more than 40,000 client hours, specializing in ADHD in teens, adults, families, and couples. He is the author of five books, including his newest, The ADHD Productivity Manual. An active volunteer, he is a co-chair of CHADD’s conference committee and was awarded the 2023 Hall of Fame award for his significant contributions to the field. A popular expert and advocate, he has been widely quoted in national media such as The New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, and Boston Globe, and serves as an expert advisor for CHADD’s media team, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Understood.org, and Insight Timer. He is in private practice in West Chester, PA.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ari Tuckman maintains a private practice. He receives royalties as a published author. Ari Tuckman receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ari Tuckman is the National Conference Committee co-chair for CHAAD.

Objectives

1. Demonstrate how ADHD neurology impacts an individual psychology. 
2. Determine the many ways that ADHD can impact both partners in a couple and the common dynamics that ensue. 
3. Clarify what the research tells us about the differences between the most and least happy couples with one ADHD partner and apply it to practice. 
4. Integrate a deeper understanding of ADHD, relationship dynamics, and sexuality to work more effectively with these clients to improve both their relationship and sex life. 

Outline

Inside the Adult ADHD Mind   

• Difficulty seeing time and feeling the future 
• Avoidance of difficult or unpleasant tasks   
• Common mindset traps and rationalizations   
• Psychological defensiveness after a lifetime of being corrected 

ADHD’s Impact on Relationships and Sex 

• The over-functioner meets the under-functioner 
• Micromanagement versus independence 
• Chronic polarizing pattern of push and pull 
• Sexuality fades and the couple’s connection weakens 

What the Happiest Couples are Doing Right –  

• Strategies to: 
  • Apply a deeper understanding of ADHD to manage life more resiliently (for both partners) 
  • Create more sustainable expectations to de-escalate the unwinnable tug of war between distraction and anxiety  
  • Explore priorities to decide what to change and what to accept in the relationship 
  • Negotiate differences respectfully and productively  
  • Identify and overcome barriers to a better sex life 

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Psychiatrists
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Case Managers
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals