New behavioral therapy to support Japanese mothers of children with ADHD
he results of the proof-of-concept of the new program, the "New Forest Parenting Programme-Japan," published in Japanese Psychological Research , show reductions in children's ADHD symptoms and improvements in parent-child relationships, suggesting that the parent-training program might prove to be an effective mainstream behavioral treatment for ADHD in Japan. International guidelines for the management of ADHD in children recommend approved medications and/or behavioral therapy. Compared with many western countries, Japan has fewer pharmacological and behavioral options. The availability of behavioral therapy is further limited by a shortage of trained specialists. Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) first recruited Japanese parents of children with ADHD for a pilot study using standard behavioral strategies to see if Japanese parents would be comfortable with the program content, assessment strategies and gro...