Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Comorbid Anxiety: Practitioner Problems in Treatment Planning

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, combined type, and anxiety have been shown to co‐occur in children but specific treatments tailored to suit this combination of diagnoses have not yet been reported. This paper addresses the problem from the perspective of clinical practice with a focus on treatment planning and evaluation. Existing work in the published literature is examined. A pilot study designed to explore the suitability of a cognitive‐behavioural family‐based intervention for use in a child mental health service is presented. The results of the intervention revealed high levels of parent and child satisfaction although there was no change in the level of symptoms. The implications for treatment planning and for future group interventions are discussed with regard to parent psychopathology and the difficulty in generalising research findings to day‐to‐day clinical practice.