Abstract
In 1996 the BPS produced a report to present the views of a working party which reviewed the extensive literature on childhood attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (AD/HD) from an applied psychology perspective. The present review looks at some of the literature produced since the BPS report in order to consider possible intervention strategies. A range of different treatment approaches are viewed from a counselling psychology perspective, and the condition is seen as a problem which involves the whole family rather than just the child. Many studies seem to support this view and in the main suggest that parental involvement is a vital part of treatment, however there does not seem to be strong evidence to indicate that any one strategy is more effective than another. AD/HD is not ‘cured’ by any of the interventions reviewed but the symptoms are reduced. In light of the lack of evidence supporting AD/HD as a ‘psychiatric disorder’ and in line with counselling psychology’s postmodern stance, an alternative view is considered in which AD/HD is seen as a social construction; a mean of social control.Today, counselling psychologists are required to seek ways of providing ‘evidence-based practice’. However there is continuing controversy within psychology concerning the merits of various approaches to research, most commonly expressed in terms of a debate about quantitative versus qualitative methods. In order to appraise the advantages and disadvantages of a positivist, quantitative approach to counselling psychology research, a reflexive engagement with this approach was undertaken. The emphasis on the need to appraise therapeutic practice and the continuing dominance of the medical model led to a pilot study on the effects of short-term cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) on immune functioning and reported mood of a group of clients with depression. The research topic was chosen because there is ample evidence from studies indicating that depression leads to down-regulation of immune function. It was hypothesised that when depression scores, using a standardised measure, reduced, sIgA levels (a commonly used measure of immune function), would increase. Participants diagnosed as suffering from clinical depression gave saliva samples before and after attending for CBT such that sIgA levels could be measured. As hypothesised, when BDI scores reduced, sIgA increased. The implications of this finding are considered and the research process is critically reflected upon.