CADDRA Expert Series 1, Session 5: Advances in Non-Pharmacological Treatments for ADHD

1. Recognize the evidence on the efficacy and tolerability of non-pharmacological interventions for
ADHD.
2. Identify the issues in relation to the quality of the evidence of studies on non-pharmacological
interventions for ADHD.
3. Recognize the role of non-pharmacological interventions in the management of ADHD.

Dr. Cortese will provide an overview on the evidence on the efficacy and tolerability of non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD, in children and adults, relying mainly on meta-analytic evidence.  In particular, he will discuss the following: parent training/behavioral interventions, cognitive training, neurofeedback, dietary interventions, mindfulness, and neurotherapies.

He will focus on the issue of the quality of the available evidence (e.g., problem with blinding in randomized controlled trials of behavioral interventions) and the relevance of the choice of the type of rater when assessing outcomes in randomized controlled trials.

Samuele Cortese, MD, PhD is currently Full Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Southampton and Honorary Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for Solent NHS Trust. He is also Adjunct Full Professor with the New York University (NYU).
Prof. Cortese’s main research interest are around neurodevelopmental disorders, with a focus on ADHD. In his research, he uses advanced evidence synthesis methods to address clinically relevant questions. He has published more than 250 peer-review papers, including first author papers in prestigious journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet Psychiatry and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He is Deputy Editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and sits on the editorial board of other 5 international journals. He is a member of the European ADHD Guidelines Group, as well as of the child and adolescent psychiatry faculty of the European Collegium of Neuropsychopharmacology and of the British Association of Psychopharmacology-child and adolescent psychiatry module. In 2020, Prof. Cortese was included in the list of the world’s most influential researchers of the past decade, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations in the field of psychiatry/psychology in 2019 in Web of Science. In 2022, he ranked #1 worldwide in terms of expertise on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) according to Expertscape .

CADDRA – Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance has been approved by the College of Family Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Canadian Psychological Association to offer 1 continuing education credits for this session.  CADDRA maintains responsibility for the program. Participation in a discussion forum and completion of a reflective exercise are required for certification.