Purpose 🎯
Help clients develop a balanced understanding of ADHD by recognizing both strengths and areas of difficulty.
Let’s Talk About It 🗣️
Draw a line down the middle of the page.
Label one side Strengths and the other Challenges.
Invite the client to build both lists together.
As the discussion develops, ask:
- Which strength has helped you through a difficult situation?
- Which challenge shows up most often?
- How could one of your strengths help manage that challenge this week?
If the Conversation Gets Stuck 💡
- What do people compliment you on?
- When do you feel most like yourself?
- What comes naturally to you that others find difficult?
Telehealth / Whiteboard Version ⚖️
Draw a balance scale. Place strengths on one side and challenges on the other. Encourage the client to keep adding strengths until they begin to see a more complete picture of themselves.
Why This Works 🌱
Many clients have spent years hearing about what they do wrong. This exercise intentionally creates space to acknowledge abilities, resilience, and personal qualities that often go unnoticed.
Clinical Pearl 🧠
The goal is not to “cancel out” the challenges. It’s to help clients recognize that both strengths and struggles can exist at the same time.
Documentation Language 📝
Therapist utilized a strengths-based intervention to increase patient insight into both adaptive qualities and functional impairments associated with ADHD. Therapist facilitated cognitive restructuring by exploring how personal strengths can be leveraged to address executive functioning challenges.
Clinical Focus: Strengths-Based Intervention, Self Concept Development, Cognitive Restructuring, Executive Functioning Insight