Reframing the Self: Exploring How Late-Diagnosed ADHD Adults Make Meaning from Psychedelic Experiences
Reframing the Self: Exploring How Late-Diagnosed ADHD Adults Make Meaning from Psychedelic Experiences
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Issue Date
2025-08-11
Authors
Tinnell, Brock
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Abstract
Adults diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) later in life often undergo significant identity shifts as they reinterpret their life histories through a new diagnostic perspective. Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic experiences may provide unique opportunities for meaning-making, emotional regulation, and self-compassion, yet little is known about how these experiences connect with a late ADHD diagnosis. This research will employ a qualitative narrative inquiry methodology to explore how adults diagnosed late with ADHD make meaning from psychedelic experiences. Semi-structured interviews will invite participants to share life stories that incorporate their ADHD diagnosis, psychedelic experiences, and the narratives they have built about themselves. Analysis will follow a restorying process to identify personal and shared themes, such as identity reconstruction, stigma reduction, and increased agency. The findings are expected to contribute to the interdisciplinary literature, linking neurodiversity studies, psychedelic science, and narrative theory, with potential implications for clinical practice, particularly in supporting integration work with neurodivergent clients. By focusing on lived experience, the goal of this project is to expand understanding of ADHD beyond deficit-based frameworks and highlight the therapeutic potential of narrative as both a research method and a process for integrating transformative experiences.
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Keywords
ADHD, late diagnosis, neurodiversity, psychedelics, narrative inquiry, meaning-making, integration , late diagnosis , neurodiversity , psychedelics , narrative inquiry , meaning-making , integration
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States , openAccess