Many readers have questions about my online courses: Solving Your Adult ADHD Puzzle. I have answers.
First, do you ever feel as if you’re treading an ocean of information on Adult ADHD — much of it conflicting? Do you ask yourself: “How do I know what and who is reliable?”
That’s the critical question! After all, this is your life, your future, we’re talking about. Unfortunately, nonsense about Adult ADHD surrounds us online—and in many clinical offices. Many claim expertise but don’t have it.
Even if you have a knack for vetting sources, a big question remains.
That is, how do you piece all that info together in a framework, a step-by-step method that helps you get traction with Adult ADHD—your own or a loved one’s ?
Solving Your Adult ADHD Puzzle launched in beta late summer 2021 to a small group. Since then, that first offering (Course 1, Foundations) has proven to be a smash success. With individuals, couples, and professionals. All ages.
This is what effective therapy looks like for Adult ADHD—but is rarely found.
Part educational. Part psychological. All de-constructing your challenges as being not your shameful personal flaws but issues common to late-diagnosis ADHD. Step by step.
Course 2, Physical Strategies, followed in 2022. It’s all about ADHD-related issues with sleep, medication, and physical conditions.
My goal? Revolutionizing medical treatment of ADHD and its associated conditions. We’ve accepted slipshod prescribing for far too long. You deserve better, but the hard truth is it’s often up to us to help guide the treatment process. With me showing you the ropes, you can do it.
Start with Course 1 or Course 2. It might help to have the foundational aspect covered before you move onto sleep and medication. Then again, with medication on board, Course 1 might be better absorbed. It all depends on your situation and knowledge base—and immediate need. The best solution might be to go back and forth a bit.
Currently, the courses are purchase one, get the other at 50% off.
In This Post:
I’ll answer the 10 most common questions I receive about my online program—and the optional Q&A Zoom groups.
First, though, you might be asking: What training do you mean, Gina?
I Mean The Training That….
- I wish my husband and I had 20 years ago — or even 5!
- I’ve longed to provide for my ADHD discussion groups —for almost that long
- Is desperately needed by all the COVID-stressed folks sending me HELP! e-mails
- Is revolutionizing treatment outcomes, including ADHD couple therapy
- Is right this minute bringing “on board” folks who didn’t even like thinking about ADHD—much less talking about it or, yikes, participating in peer meetings!
- Explains sophisticated scientific concepts in everyday language (I find simplistic explanations turn off smart folks)
- Guides you through the evaluation process, so you know what to expect—and how to guide it along when necessary—so you have confidence in the diagnosis (even if you were diagnosed years ago!) and can better target goals
- Emphasizes the importance of sharing emotional reactions to the diagnosis
- Helps you to break down your own ADHD Roller Coaster into all its parts—so you can start tweaking that structure into a healthier, happier ride.
- You’ll find plenty of details on this page: Solving Your Adult ADHD Puzzle
For now, here are the 10 most common questions. Feel free to add your own question or concern in a comment. I’ll get right back to you!
Q&A About Gina’s New Online Program
- Who is this program for—Individuals or couples?
- Should my partner take the course with me?
- Is this course “beginner, intermediate, or expert”?
- Is this a live webinar or what?
- But Gina, why pay for what’s FREE online?
- How is the course different from your books?
- Why is it called “Solving Your Adult ADHD Puzzle”?
- I’m busy! How long will it take?
- What if I get busier for a while and can’t participate?
- Money is tight. How quickly will I benefit?
1. Who is this program for? Individuals or couples?
Simple! I designed the course for everyone affected by adult ADHD:
- The adults themselves
- Their partners and spouses
- Their parents, siblings, and adult children
- Professionals
As the co-author of the first professional ADHD couple therapy guide, I can assure you: Standard therapy doesn’t work for ADHD—for individuals or couples or families. In fact, it can make things worse.
After you’ve got a handle on the ADHD-related issues, therapy might be useful for what’s left.
2. Should my partner take the course with me?
Many couples benefit by taking the course at the same time — separately or together.
But here’s an important truth you won’t hear elsewhere: One of you might need to take the plunge first.
Taking the course first also gives you time to “process” the information—and emotions. After the dust settles, then you can approach your partner or other loved one with a calmer mind—and your ducks in a row!
Please know: Your partner or other loved one need not participate at all—need not even acknowledge ADHD (yours or theirs!)—for the training to help YOU.
Here, though, is a common phenomenon: As you start standing on more solid ground, that starts to subtly bring your partner around. As often happens, their “denial” wasn’t the brick wall you always believed it was. It was more like tissue paper—waiting for clarity, compassion, and confidence to blow it out of the way.
So, please oh please don’t delay, thinking you first need to get your partner to agree on the front end. That is a guaranteed losing strategy.
By the way, I created these cartoons to challenge the “joined at the hip” presumption. Because it keeps you stuck!
3. Is this course “beginner, intermediate, or advanced”?
Yes!
No matter your existing knowledge of ADHD, from basic to expert, you’ll find new and useful information and guidance here— presented in ways you’ve not seen before. I guarantee it.
Even after 24 years of study on Adult ADHD, I always discover something new! Some info nugget will cause the “penny to drop”—loudly — and make so much sense. Then I’ll see the connections to so many previously disconnected issues. Like, oh, um….a jigsaw puzzle!
4. Is this a live webinar or what?
You can access the course 24/7.
That’s because it centers on a series of short, engaging videos covering foundational topics. You’ll also have support materials. That includes Action Steps Guides guide you in personalizing the lessons. You might still feel that you need a professional facilitator—or even a referee.
That’s the other purpose of the Action Step Guides: Take them with you to a standard therapist who can help you through it even without possessing ADHD expertise.
If you opt for the Zoom-meeting option, you’re in for an extra treat! You’ll meet other students—from England to Australia and throughout the US and Canada. Currently, these meetings take place twice monthly:
- Second Saturday, Noon Pacific Time
- Various days of the week and times to accommodate a large variety of schedules and time zones.
(This is my favorite part of the job! It’s the first time most have been in a “room” with their peers, much less a mixed group! You can practically see the light bulbs going off—and the anxiety dissolving. To me, this is a “must-have”. You can always add it later.)
5. But Gina, why pay for what’s FREE online?
When it comes to this critical knowledge and support, FREE comes at a high cost… In lost opportunities, dashed optimism; and deep regrets.
Second, you won’t find anything else like this — even with the majority of therapists and coaches specializing in ADHD. If you could, I wouldn’t have toiled for years creating it! I could have retired!
It’s true, though. Today we find a dizzying array of information on Adult ADHD. Some of it reliable! Yet, much confuses the public with conflicting, even bad, advice. For example, compare who dominates online and who are the truly respected experts. You won’t find much overlap.
Even with helpful information, it’s mostly bits and pieces. There is no framework for implementing it all rationally, step by step. Starting small and simple—and growing larger and more complex over time, when you’re prepared for it.
One thing I’ve learned for certain: You can’t approach ADHD from the top or sides. Tips and tricks aren’t going to cut it. At least not for more than a week or two! To ensure lasting success, we start at the ground floor and build up.
This course provides take-you-by-the-hand training, complete with workbooks and access to me (if you choose the Zoom option), not to mention other folks in the same boat. I’m telling you, it’s a standout. But don’t just take it from me.
Consider just a few testimonials (more at the link).
6. How is the course different from your books?
The course expands upon my books and this blog by:
- Going deeper into topics in a digestible bit-by-bit way
- Bringing “life” to the topics via video (even the audio alone!) and optional Zoom-meetings
- Providing Action Steps guides so you can personalize and preserve the lessons
- Helping you track your progress
If you haven’t read my books yet, or if you aren’t a big reader, don’t worry: The course has you covered.
7. Why is it called 'Solving Your Adult ADHD Puzzle'?
Are you an individual or a stereotype? I’m guessing individual. A complex human. ADHD is a highly variable syndrome. Meaning, it affects the people who have it in varying ways.
No two brains are alike? Think snowflakes, not clones!
Your experience of ADHD — in yourself or a loved one — differs from the next person’s! Sure, we find common themes; that’s what makes it a diagnosis.
It’s always easier to market to simplistic stereotypes. Unfortunately, that means smart folks who don’t fall for cookie-cutter explanations look beyond ADHD. In fact, they are insulted—rightfully.
Unless you’ve sat in a room as I have for 15 years, face-to-face, month after month, with 25-30 adults with ADHD— it’s impossibility to grasp this variability.
When we step away from the dumbed-down explanations about “ADHD brains” or “chemical imbalance,” it’s easier to drop defenses and embrace respectful learning. It’s easier for everyone to make real and lasting progress.
8. I’m busy! How long will it take?
That might be the wrong question! It sets you up for “I don’t have 10 spare hours!”
That’s a common ADHD trap, you know: telling yourself you can’t do something before you get started? I call it the Automatic No.
This is where we remind ourselves how to eat an elephant—one bite at a time. We also ask ourselves: How much time and frustration am I investing in dealing with poorly managed ADHD?
You will start benefiting immediately. Moreover, you have access for the life of the course (at least two years, but please don’t take that as an invitation to procrastination!)
Take it at your own pace—and revisit frequently. Buzz through in a weekend—or take it one hour each day or week. Or whatever you can manage.
This is not a race. It is your life.
All that said, I provide time charts to support you in getting started—and progress to the finish line. You can also opt to receive 10 e-mails from me over 10 weeks, “chunking” out one hour of the course.
Whether you go with 15-minute sessions over months or plow through as if your life depended on it (maybe it does!), you’ll be making good use of your time.
9. Money is tight. How quickly will I benefit?
It’s no secret. Poorly managed ADHD can decimate the budget. I appreciate that because I have lived it.
That’s why I’ve kept the price extremely affordable and cost-effective. I challenge anyone to match in therapy or coaching what they will get in this course—at a fraction of the cost and time investment.
As far as how quickly you’ll see returns? That’s hard to say. But consider one man’s experience about the 2.5 hour Bonus module:
“I just completed the intro & I am floored. Until this moment, I’ve felt lost in an indescribable way. I now believe I not only have ADHD, as I’ve long suspected, but a lot of my “depressive” symptoms might be a direct result. I feel more confident now about newly approaching an evaluation and no longer settling for inexperience.”
10. What if I get busier for a while and can’t participate?
No problem. Life happens.
But please remember: With each course, we’re talking the overall equivalent of a one-day workshop!
- Binge-watch over a weekend.
- Take 20-30 minutes at a time while you’re cooking dinner!
- Listen to the audio in the car.
- It all adds up quickly!
May I ask a few personal questions?
- How many hours did you spend in the last month on activities that got you nowhere—worse, that aren’t even enjoyable?
- How much sleep are you losing?
- How many arguments (even with yourself!) did you lose precious hours to?
- How much…..wheel-spinning?
A major goal of the course is helping you to gain a better sense of time—countering what Russell Barkley, PhD, called “Time Blindness.” So you can use your time as you like rather than what “just happens.”
If I’ve answered your questions and you’re ready to dive in, head here to join us in Solving Your ADHD Puzzle.
Still on the fence or have a question? Just ask in a comment! Or use the “contact” form above. I’m happy to help determine if it’s a good fit for you.
I just want to highly rccommend this course to everyone.
Have you read Gina´s book and found it helpful? THIS. IS. EVEN. BETTER.
So much good information, creating an understanding for both partners if you do it together, but even if you partner/friend/close on with ADHD/ADD isn´t on board with doing this course with you it will be incredibly validating and valuable to take this course on your own.
You can cherry-pick and look at the videos is the order you feel is most helpful to you and you can see them from the first to the last, building as you go.
This course has really helped me find my voice, stand my ground and create a better platform for me to better understand and communicate with my partner with ADD. You also get so much support in how to go trough the course with the different modules. This is worth every penny and more!
Dear Johanna,
I’m so grateful for your positive feedback. Thank you for taking the time.
It’s been a delight to meet you!
Gina
Hi, I am strongly considering taking your wonderful course. Something I’ve been trying to find specific information about is the micronutrients that have been used in studies for ADHD treatment. Is that something that is touched on in the course?
Thanks so much for your time, and all the care and effort that has gone into your decades of work on this front.
Hi Duncan,
Thanks for your question.
I’m working right now on the next course, Physical Strategies — sleep and medication. That covers in detail the various sleep disorders associated with ADHD and the recommended strategies. And it also details how medications work, the choices, how to be pro-active in working with a prescriber in setting treatment goals, tracking progress, etc.
I will devote a few lessons to the latest research on diet and exercise. But the trouble is, that’s very hard to come by.
ADHD is a highly (highly) variable syndrome. I devote a lesson in this main course available now to the genetics of ADHD. In short, potentially HUNDREDS of genes, each making a small contribution, are involved. And those genes are not limited to people with ADHD.
This is important vis a vis your question, because there can also be genetic factors that affect how well we uptake nutrients.
Maybe you are referring to the studies about zinc? Those were mostly long ago and came out of the Middle East. It’s certainly worth examining one’s diet. Vegetarians and others who avoid red meat might well be low on zinc. And they risk further risking cognition by relying on convenience foods such as whole grain breads and cereals. That can tilt the copper-zinc ration way out of whack.
What’s true about zinc deficiency, for example, for one person with ADHD will not be true for others. Should people with ADHD who have Restless Legs Syndrome (as many do) take iron supplements? Or, are they getting sufficient iron in their diet but their brain is not sending the message to uptake the iron molecules?
As far as I know, not many people other than me are even asking such questions — and digging for answers.
For example, in Course 2 I am updating a study I considered very important back in 2014 — and still do. I recently discovered that this research team had confirmed their initial findings.
Can stimulants normalize iron uptake?
https://adhdrollercoaster.org/tools-and-strategies/can-stimulants-normalize-iron-uptake-in-individuals-with-adhd-maybe/
I’ve always been interested in basic health knowledge, such as aiming for good balances of the “paired” minerals …zinc & copper, calcium & magnesium…. but I am by no means an expert.
I do emphasize that at the core ADHD is a physical condition — and it can have all kinds of effects on physiology.
I hope that answers your question!
Gina
P.S. thanks for noticing my work! 🙂