Diagnosed with ADHD and co-occurring mental health conditions, Mina struggled for years with executive function, anxiety, depression, and substance use. After high school, she made the intentional choice to delay university and focus on getting the care she needed. That decision paid off: today, she’s taking classes in her field of interest, volunteering, and working as a babysitter—steadily building a life that feels both manageable and meaningful.
Presenting Problems
From a young age, Mina’s ADHD made it difficult to stay on top of schoolwork, manage daily tasks, or think clearly about the future. What started as trouble focusing eventually spiraled into deeper struggles with anxiety, depression, and substance use. The constant overwhelm became too much to carry alone. Recognizing she needed more support, Mina made the difficult yet important decision to defer her first semester of college and prioritize her mental health. At The Dorm, she began addressing her ADHD, cannabis dependence, mood challenges, and the weight of past trauma—laying the groundwork for a more stable path forward.
Treatment and Life Goals
At The Dorm, Mina sought to:
- Improve her executive function to better manage day-to-day life
- Begin her first semester of college
- Address and cope with past traumatic events
- Remain sober
Treatment Plan and Recovery Journey
Individual Therapy
In individual therapy sessions, Mina’s clinical team utilized various modalities to help her work through her mental health struggles:
- Staying engaged in treatment wasn’t always easy for Mina. Her ADHD, combined with depression and other co-occurring diagnoses, often left her feeling unmotivated and stuck. In those moments, her therapy sessions centered around Motivational Interviewing—a collaborative, nonjudgmental approach that helped her reconnect with her goals and sense of agency. These conversations became a lifeline during periods of low motivation, giving Mina the space to explore her ambivalence, reflect on her progress, and find her own reasons to keep going.
- Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mina began to untangle the web of negative thoughts that fueled her anxiety, depression, and substance use. With support, she learned to identify the unhelpful patterns that kept her stuck and gradually replace them with more balanced, compassionate thinking. Over time, this shift gave her tools not just to cope, but to challenge the inner narratives that once felt impossible to change.
- Psychodynamic therapy also helped Mina dig deeper into the underlying causes of her mental health struggles, helping her process her past trauma.
Clinical Coaching
Mina worked closely with her coach to build and practice executive functioning skills that had long felt out of reach. With both onsite and in-home support, her team helped her tackle tasks that once left her feeling “frozen”—grocery shopping, budgeting, and establishing routines to regulate her sleep. These seemingly small wins became meaningful milestones. Together, they also mapped out longer-term goals, like returning to school and maintaining her sobriety, breaking them down into manageable steps. As her confidence grew, so did her sense of autonomy—Mina began to trust not just the process, but herself.
Parent Coaching and Family Therapy
Mina’s parents held specific expectations on what treatment would look like for her. Her clinical care team worked with them to manage these expectations, reiterating that mental health recovery is not a linear process, and helping them come up with ways to be supportive during Mina’s treatment journey.
Group Therapy
Mina found accountability and peer motivation valuable as part of multiple groups, including:
- Executive Function Group, where Mina was able to further develop executive function skills alongside her peers. Mina focused especially on cognitive flexibility, or the ability to switch between different tasks and mental processes, which was beneficial as she began to consider a new school semester.
- Seeking Safety Group, a group geared towards clients who have experienced a traumatic event, helping them process their trauma and associated emotions.
- Early Recovery and Relapse Prevention Group, to help her maintain her sobriety.
Community Clubhouse
- A pivotal part of Mina’s growth came through connection. The Dorm’s community model offered her something she hadn’t experienced in a long time: a sense of belonging. She formed meaningful friendships with other neurodiverse peers who understood her struggles, and that support became a vital part of her healing.
- Mina was an active presence in the community—joining outings to museums and parks, and showing up for social events like formals and holiday parties. These shared experiences helped her rebuild trust, practice vulnerability, and set the stage for building healthy friendships at school.
Mina Today: Outcomes
- Since graduating from The Dorm, Mina has begun a new chapter. She works as a babysitter and often volunteers her time visiting with local elders. Mina is now also enrolled back in classes, in a field that truly excites her. It’s a step that once felt daunting, but now feels like a bold investment in the life she’s building for herself.
- Mina continues to work hard on her executive functioning skills, now with more confidence and consistency. She meets regularly with her outside therapist, prioritizing her mental health and honoring the routines that support her sobriety. And while her time at The Dorm has ended, the friendships she formed there remain a steady presence in her life—reminders of how far she’s come, and how far she can go.
