Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for ADHD in College: Recommendations “Hot Off the Press”

ADHD leads to impairment across the lifespan including during the college years. An increasing number of studies document the academic, social, and psychological impairments associated with the disorder in college (DuPaul, Weyandt, O’Dell, & Varejao, 2009). Yet, until very recently, there were no published studies on cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches specifically tailored to college students with ADHD. Over the past year, however, four research groups have published work on skills-based cognitive-behavioral treatments for this population. My goal in this article is to briefly summarize these findings and to identify key recommendations for clinicians working with college students with the disorder that emerge across studies. In addition, I will integrate findings from basic research on ADHD and memory strategies that my colleagues and I have recently completed and make the case for inclusion of these strategies into skills-based ADHD treatments for college students