ADHD and the Mindful Path

CPD

Handouts

Faculty

Merriam Sarcia Saunders, LMFT, ADHD-CCSP Related seminars and products

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Merriam Sarcia Saunders, LMFT, ADHD-CCSP, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and Certified Clinical Services Provider with deep clinical experience supporting people with ADHD and neurodivergence across the lifespan. She brings over 15 years of practice in private, school, and community settings, with specialized expertise in ADHD, autism, and ADHD coaching.

Merriam is widely recognized for her work translating complex ADHD research into practical, compassionate strategies. She is the author of ADHD-focused children’s books such as My Whirling, Twirling Motor and My Wandering, Dreaming Mind, as well as adult non-fiction including Divorce and the ADHD, Autistic, Anxious Child and Mindfulness Meditation for ADHD, which reflects her commitment to strength-based, mindful approaches for neurodivergent brains.

In addition to her books, Merriam co-founded A Novel Mind, a widely used database and resource hub for neurodiversity-affirming literature, and serves as an adjunct professor of psychology, bringing evidence-informed practice into both clinical and educational spaces.

Known for blending mindfulness, behaviorally grounded support, and real-world insight, she teaches clinicians how to help clients and families build self-regulation, resilience, and effective routines that honor the unique strengths and challenges of ADHD.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Merriam Saunders maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with Superior Court of California, Dominican University, Marin County Office of Education, Centene Corporation MHN/Healthnet, and the Ansel Adams Trust. She receives royalties as a published author. Merriam Saunders receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Merriam Saunders has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Objectives

1. Differentiate between ADHD and other disorders in relation to assessment and treatment planning.
2. Analyze the common misconceptions regarding ADHD as related to clinical treatment.
3. Integrate the neuroscience of ADHD into mindfulness interventions.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the various evidence and mindfulness-based treatments for ADHD to inform the clinician’s choice of treatment interventions.
5. Employ numerous mindfulness exercises and interventions targeting the emotional and executive functioning impacts of ADHD in clients to improve treatment outcomes.

Outline

• Understanding symptoms of ADHD
• How is it diagnosed?
• What is executive functioning?

• Why the brain does what it does
• What we need it to do
• Why mindfulness works for ADHD

• Common myths about ADHD
• Assessing for co-occurring disorders and other causes
• Client misconceptions regarding mindfulness for ADHD

• Are you treating ADHD or its emotional impact?

• Medication Options
• Evidence-based treatment for ADHD
• Evidence-based efficacy of alternative approaches

• Making mindfulness accessible
• Differentiating between mindfulness and meditation
• Explaining the benefits of mindfulness for ADHD

• Exercises to:
  • Increase attention and impulse control
  • Calm the mind, body and emotions
  • Increase organization, memory and planning
  • Manage Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria
  • Increase self-compassion
  • Reduce ADHD-related anxiety
  • Increase emotional regulation ability

• Why we treat the parent and not the child
• Essential elements of Parent-behavior Therapy

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Educators
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Nurses
• Psychologists
• Social Workers
• Other Mental Health Professions