Areas of
Focus

Attention Issues

Attention problems can be a result of biological factors such as ADHD or ADD, or a side-effect of depression or anxiety. When you’re stressed out or have a lot on your mind, it is hard to concentrate. You may have difficulty finishing projects or find yourself wandering from task to task. This lack of concentration can have a devastating effect on personal and professional relationships. Understanding the source of your attention difficulties can be an important step on the road to regaining self-confidence and learning how to organize your thoughts and your time.

Even when there appears to be a biological component to your attention difficulties, learning to manage anxiety better can vastly improve your ability to concentrate and accomplish tasks. People with ADD and ADHD often suffer from accompanying self-esteem and depression issues as a result of chronic underperformance or criticism from others due to a condition that is beyond their control. Attention disorders are also some of the most commonly misdiagnosed syndromes. Often we find that people who come to us with a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD actually suffer from chronic, unregulated anxiety or depression, and can be treated successfully with ISTDP and mindfulness approaches.

We help people improve areas in their lives that suffer along with attention:

• dealing with problems with regulating the emotional ups and downs that can disrupt focus
• improving your ability to be receptive to and read the emotional states of others
• slowing down so you can digest your thoughts and feel your feelings more fully

Attention issues can impact your life in a number or ways:

• You may get bored more easily and find it hard to complete projects
• It may take you longer to complete projects than you anticipate
• You may have developed self doubts about your ability to follow through on projects
• You may seem tuned out to family members so that they feel you don’t care
• You may find it difficult to concentrate on certain types of projects
• You may get bored easily
• You have may a hard time knowing what you want
• You may have trouble making decisions

Following a comprehensive evaluation, we will discuss with you the approaches that would be most effective in improving your attention and organization. These could include ISTDP, mindfulness approaches, psychoeducation, and referral for medical consultation.