ADHD Couples Therapy Training for Clinicians | AaRT | The Dig Deeper School

DIY*ADHD Couples is a clinician-designed CE course that teaches you to identify ADHD's fingerprints in the session room and confidently integrate ADHD-adapted treatment into the couples modality you already practice. Developed by two couples therapists with a combined decade of clinical experience and hundreds of client couples.

Course

DIY*ADHD Couples: For Couples Therapists

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4 Chapters

13 Lessons

Why couples therapists miss it

ADHD's impact can be difficult to identify in the session room because it shows up so differently from client to client. There's a lot of information, and misinformation, to sift through, and it's hard to know which sources are credible or which experts have real clinical depth on the topic. When therapy stalls with a couple, therapists are often left uncertain why: was it the modality, the couple, the therapist, or the setting? That uncertainty can chip away at confidence, and some therapists start avoiding the mixed neurotype couples and families who need them most.

ADHD is still widely missed.

It remains significantly under-recognized, under-diagnosed, and under-treated among adults. In a couple where one or both partners have undiagnosed or unmanaged ADHD, the defining feature is this: the behaviour driving conflict is often shaped by invisible, involuntary brain function, not by choice or by trauma alone.

Why this matters clinically

Treating these couples the same as neurotypical couples misses the invisible barriers to progress.

Increased trauma vulnerability.

ADHD's heritability, combined with under-diagnosis and under-treatment, means people with ADHD are also more vulnerable to developmental, childhood, and attachment trauma.

Relationship instability.

Adults with ADHD report less stability in romantic relationships, feel less able to provide emotional support to partners, experience more sexual dysfunction, and have higher divorce rates.

Elevated risk factors.

Unmanaged ADHD is a risk factor for dating violence, family violence, infidelity, and high-conflict divorce. Adults with ADHD report lower marital satisfaction than their non-ADHD peers.

ADHD-adapted Relational Therapy (AART)

AaRT was developed by John Foulkes, RP, and Christina Crowe, RP, as an approach built specifically for couples of mixed neurotypes. It integrates neuroscience, ADHD treatment guidelines, executive functioning support, and relationship dynamics with the couples therapy interventions you already use

What this course teaches you to do

Identify

Recognize the involuntary, brain-driven behaviours that commonly disrupt the couples therapeutic process.

Integrate

Bring relational neurobiology into your chosen couples therapy modality through the AaRT model of practice.

Coordinate

Confidently coordinate care with other practitioners involved in your client's treatment.

Hear from Christina and John

Few terms are as misunderstood in ADHD relationships as "gaslighting." With more nuanced education, you can help your couple clients move from frustration and misunderstanding toward mutual support and connection.

Curriculum

4 Chapters · 13 Lessons

1. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 1: Introduction
2. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 2: ADHD Defined
3. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 3: The Science
4. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 4: Screening and Measuring
5. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 5: How does ADHD show up in relationships?
6. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 6: Creating a couple-based treatment plan
1. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 7: ADHD Relational Couples Therapy
2. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 8: Integrating models of practice
3. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 9: The role of ADHD medication in couples therapy
1. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 10: Multi-Disciplinary Care Coordination
2. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 11: What about you, the couples therapist?
3. (Included in full purchase)
  Chapter 12: Conclusion and summary thoughts
1. (Included in full purchase)
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About Christina & John

With over a combined decade and hundreds of clients, John and Christina have put together a course that pulls together the best of the current science, experiential couples modalities and the adaptions that really work for neurodivergent couples. John Foulkes, BSc., OPC-D Psych, CPCC, RP, OVCS, (Cert.) IPT (he, him) is psychodynamically trained and certified in EFT, IPT, Reality/Choice Therapy. John is an EFT Couples Therapist and provides individual and group supervision for Couples therapists. Christina Crowe, MACP, RP, OVCS, CMHP, (Cert. )IPT (she, her) is a neurodivergent-affirming Registered Psychotherapist, Certified IPT Therapist and Validated Clinical Supervisor. Christina works with individuals (ages 16+), couples and families.

What therapists are saying

Couples’ therapists have told us they feel a renewed confidence in identifying a truly solvable problem, that is a significant unmet need within the couple and family therapy demographics.

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“Great course, it was very useful and engaging! Christina and John are a great pair to watch in practice.”

Kaleigh S.

Barrie, ON

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