More detail
Learning a skill is different from having it available
Where ADHD can interrupt DBT
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) involves learning skills, trying them between sessions and using them in difficult moments. With ADHD, you may miss part of the teaching, forget the sequence later, or intend to practise but never get started.
Practice can be difficult with EUPD too. ADHD adds possible attention, memory and organisation barriers; it does not mean you cannot learn or benefit.
Reduce what you have to retain at once
Ask to pause after one main point and explain it back in your own words. If a worksheet is long, ask the therapist to mark the part you are working on.
Try the skill together using a recent, manageable example from your life. Leave with the action in your own words, not just the name of the skill.
Plan practice for an ordinary day
Waiting until you are overwhelmed means trying to recall a new skill at a difficult moment. Agree a brief practice during a calmer part of your day.
Make the cue specific: after breakfast, open the saved skill card and practise the agreed step. If breakfast is unreliable, choose a different event you usually notice. Ask to review whether the cue worked—not simply whether you completed your homework.
If you remember too late
Tell your therapist: ‘I remembered the skill afterwards, but not while it was happening.’ Work together on an earlier signal you can recognise, such as losing track when several demands arrive at once.
Ask to include what you can say to pause that situation and where your reminder will be. This makes the skill easier to reach; it does not require you to decide which diagnosis caused the emotion.
Keep ADHD needs in the treatment plan
If appointments, concentration or practice are repeatedly difficult, ask for those barriers to be written into your plan with the agreed adjustments. ADHD treatment may support attention and organisation, but it does not replace psychological treatment for EUPD.