ADHD affects not only attention and organisation but also how we relate to others and understand ourselves. Many adults with ADHD notice challenges in relationships, struggle with emotional regulation, and carry feelings of frustration, guilt, or shame.
Relational therapy offers a unique approach by focusing on the patterns in your relationships, including the relationship with your therapist, to help you understand yourself more deeply and build healthier connections.
What Is Relational Therapy?
Relational therapy emphasises the importance of the therapeutic relationship as a mirror for other relationships in your life. Through the interactions that occur in therapy, you can:
- Observe patterns in how you connect with others
- Understand why certain dynamics feel familiar or triggering
- Practice new ways of relating in a safe, supportive space
This approach is particularly effective for adults with ADHD because it integrates emotional insight with practical understanding, helping you notice how ADHD influences both your internal world and your interactions.
How Relational Therapy Helps Adults with ADHD
1. Improving emotional awareness
ADHD can amplify emotions, making frustration, anger, or sadness feel intense. In relational therapy, you explore these feelings as they arise in session, helping you understand their triggers and learn to respond rather than react.
2. Strengthening relationships
Many adults with ADHD experience misunderstandings or conflicts in friendships, family, or work relationships. By examining relational patterns in therapy, you can develop clearer communication, empathy, and confidence in your interactions.
3. Enhancing self-understanding
Relational therapy allows you to reflect on long-standing patterns, such as difficulty setting boundaries, overcompensating, or feeling misunderstood, and see them in the context of your life and ADHD experiences.
4. Complementing psychodynamic work
Relational therapy works well alongside psychodynamic approaches, which explore unconscious patterns and early experiences. Together, these methods provide insight into how past experiences shape your ADHD-related challenges, while offering practical strategies for current relationships.
5. Practicing change in a safe space
The therapy room is a place where you can experiment with new ways of expressing yourself and relating to others. Over time, these experiences help you build confidence, improve emotional regulation, and carry new skills into everyday life.
Therapy for ADHD in Brighton and Online
I offer relational therapy for adults with ADHD, both in person in Brighton and online across the UK.
Sessions provide a safe, confidential space to explore your patterns, understand yourself, and build healthier relationships.
If you’d like to learn more about relational therapy for ADHD or discuss whether it could help you, please get in touch to arrange an initial call.
How is this different from standard counselling?
Relational therapy emphasises the therapeutic relationship itself as part of the learning process, offering direct insight into patterns that may repeat in your personal and professional life.
Can relational therapy help if I’ve struggled with relationships for years?
Yes. Many adults find that therapy uncovers patterns they’ve carried for decades and helps them experiment with new ways of relating.