Serious Fun: Leveraging Fun as a Strategy for People of All Ages with ADHD

The upcoming holidays can be experienced as fun for some people some of the time. For many, it's not “the most wonderful time of the year”. It's a time when those in helping professions can make a great impact not only by assisting with task execution but through injecting levity and creativity.

Fun, awe, spontaneity, and humor are part of a meaningful and connected life, and leveraging these elements with students and clients builds relationships and collaboration. For individuals with ADHD and their families, shifting focus with novelty and warmth may be a strength to be introduced for tackling challenges.

Rachel Winer, PhD is a child and adult clinical psychologist with a private therapy practice in Houston. She also leads an arts and culture-informed social outings group called OutGoing for Neurodivergent adults, which is going on its 14th year. She also has a film group called Reel Therapy in its 12th year, and she launched a couples "not-therapy" program in Houston restaurants called Pairings Houston. Rachel is currently writing a book on the topic of art and cultural enrichment outside the office as a modality of care.

Her clinical interests include emerging adulthood, ADHD, autism, chronic medical issues, cross-cultural psychology, transforming anxiety into an opportunity state, and life transitions. Rachel is a published author in medical journals as well as arts and museum publications, and has been on faculty at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. She chairs the board of directors at the Houston Contemporary Dance Company, and serves on the advisory board at The Council on Recovery. Her nephews, niece, friends, and colleagues agree that she is fun...most of the time. https://rachelwinerphd.wordpress.com/

2 CEs for Educators, LPCs, LMFTs, Social Workers, Psychologists, Organizers

Objectives:

Participants will be able to

• discuss empirical studies on fun related to existing literature
• apply strategies for implementing fun activities/interventions.
• review strategies discussed in this presentation to their own cases