The Adaptable Brain:
Leveraging ADHD’s Neurobiological, Psychoanalytic, and Personal Vicissitudes
A 2-Part Continuing Education Workshop Series
Integrating Neuroscience, Psychodynamics, and Lived Experience in ADHD Care
With Inna Rozentsvit, MD, PhD & Jan Almasy, RN Date: Sundays, July 27th, 2025 & August 3rd, 2025 | Time: 12:00 PM – 3:15 PM Virtual Live Continuing Education: 8.5 CEs for NYS Psychologists, NYS Social Workers, and the APA
(covers most Mental Health Professionals outside of NYS) 6 CEsfor Licensed Psychoanalysts (LPs)
ADHD Is Not a Deficit — It’s a Different Operating System
What if ADHD isn’t merely a disorder to be managed, but a different kind of brain — a neurobiological variation with its own internal logic, strengths, and vulnerabilities? A brain wired not for dysfunction, but for adaptation, innovation, and insight?
Too often, ADHD across the lifespan is misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or masked. While commonly associated with childhood hyperactivity, millions of adults live with undiagnosed ADHD, frequently presenting with anxiety, depression, emotional and somatic dysregulation, impulsivity, executive dysfunction, overthinking, procrastination, avoidance, somatization, or addictive tendencies. These struggles often lead to relational difficulties and emotional burnout from repeated failures to meet social expectations.
Without a broader understanding of ADHD’s neurobiological and psychosocial dimensions, clinicians may miss the root causes of what they treat, resulting in fragmented or ineffective care.
In today’s post-COVID clinical landscape, marked by rising caseloads, social isolation, increasingly complex comorbidities, and the limitations of telehealth, mental health professionals urgently need a deeper, integrative understanding of neurodivergence across the lifespan and genders. The recent surge in ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions reflects increased awareness, but pharmacological approaches often mask symptoms without addressing the underlying neurobiological “wiring” (structure and function).
This two-part continuing education series offers a rigorous, in-depth training that moves far beyond deficit models. Rooted in neuroscience, psychodynamics, and lived experience, it explores how ADHD shapes not just attention and impulse control, but identity, emotional regulation, social cognition, and resilience.
Functional PsychoNeuroBiology® Tools We Will Explore
Our brain is a dynamic, malleable organ capable of continual growth and adaptation, a principle that forms the foundation of modern neuroscience.
This training is grounded in the Functional PsychoNeuroBiology® framework — a dynamic, systems-based approach to understanding and working with the brain-mind connection. Together, you’ll learn how to apply:
Neurofunctional Principles: Brain laterality; “use it or lose it”; “what fires together wires together”; “what’s connected together matures together.”
Triune Brain and Its Extensions: Paul MacLean’s Triune Brain model and the Triune Brain Plus framework will provide insights into ADHD-related (trauma based) emotional reactivity, stress regulation, and attachment patterns.
Eric Kandel’s Principles of Neural Functioning: Emphasizing that all mental processes — including thoughts, memories, emotions, and behaviors — arise from biological activity in the brain and nervous system, reinforcing the role of synaptic change in learning and adaptation, as well as the role of genes and epigenetic influence (Kandel, 1998).
Practical Integration: These tools will be applied to real-world clinical questions around behavior, affect regulation, comorbidity, and identity formation, making complex neuroscience practical and relevant in everyday therapeutic contexts.
What Makes This Workshop Series Different?
Co-facilitated by Dr. Inna Rozentsvit, a neurologist, psychoanalyst, and transdisciplinary researcher, and Jan Almasy, a registered nurse, educator, and entrepreneur living with ADHD, this course combines clinical precision with lived-experience insight to illuminate ADHD as both a challenge and a catalyst for growth.
Highlights:
Science + Story: Grounded in neuroscience, enriched with first-person case narratives
Beyond Childhood: Explore how ADHD shapes adult emotional life, identity, and relationships
Strength-Based: Reframe traits like hyperfocus, empathy, and creativity as adaptive assets
Trauma-Informed: Address comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, and trauma through a neurodiversity-affirming lens
Clinically Actionable: Leave with practical tools to help ADHD clients thrive, not just function
You Will Gain:
A working model of ADHD as a neurobiological system, not simply a disorder
Functional PsychoNeuroBiology® tools applicable to a wide range of clinical presentations
Techniques based on self-directed neuroplasticity, identity integration, and strength-based treatment
A deeper understanding of how ADHD impacts emotional life, self-concept, and relational dynamics
First-person perspectives that give voice to the internal experience of neurodivergence
Why Mental Health Practitioners Need This Now
Whether you’re a therapist, social worker, school counselor, or psychoanalyst, you’re likely already treating clients with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed ADHD. Understanding the neurobiology of ADHD and how it intersects with trauma, executive dysfunction, and emotional dysregulation is critical to delivering effective care.
This workshop offers a pathway beyond symptom management, toward a whole-person, transdisciplinary model of healing and prevention. One that honors difference, builds resilience, and fosters transformative change.
From Struggle to Strength: Rethinking the ADHD Narrative
Public figures like Richard Branson, Barbara Corcoran, Simone Biles, and Justin Timberlake have shared how ADHD played a powerful role in shaping their creativity, success, and resilience. Their stories reflect the core message of this workshop: what’s wired can be rewired, and what’s misunderstood can become a source of connection, insight, and strength.
Who Should Attend
Psychotherapists & Psychoanalysts
Marriage & Family Therapists
Social Workers
Art Therapists
School Counselors
ADHD & Executive Function Coaches
Educators, Academic Advisors, and Neurodivergent Advocates
Students of All Ages Who Are Curious about ADHD
Entrepreneurs and Professionals living with ADHD
SEMINAR SCHEDULE:
Morning Session: 10:30am – 12:45pm EDT
Afternoon Session: 1:15pm – 3:30pm EDT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this series, participants will be able to:
Identify and discuss the neurobiological foundations of ADHD and their impact on emotional regulation, social functioning, and identity development
Recognize ADHD-related mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, trauma responses, and relationship difficulties, through a neurodivergent-informed lens
Analyze ADHD strengths, such as hyperfocus, creativity, empathy, and pattern recognition, alongside traditional symptomatology
Reframe negative identity narratives and support clients in developing a resilient, affirming self-concept
Design therapeutic interventions that align with ADHD neurology and incorporate self-directed neuroplasticity and fire together-wire together principles
Address comorbidity and self-medication patterns using trauma-informed, strength-based approaches
Help ADHD clients build emotional self-regulation strategies and cultivate social connection based on neurobiological insight
“… defects, disorders, [and] diseases… can play a paradoxical role, by bringing out latent powers, developments, evolutions, forms of life that might never be seen, or even be imaginable, in their absence” ― Oliver Sacks, 1996, An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales, p. xvi
“It helps to think of ADHD as a complex set of contradictory or paradoxical tendencies: a lack of focus combined with an ability to superfocus; a lack of direction combined with highly directed entrepreneurialism; a tendency to procrastinate combined with a knack for getting a week’s worth of work done in two hours; impulsive, wrongheaded decision making combined with inventive, out-of-the-blue problem solving; interpersonal cluelessness combined with uncanny intuition and empathy; the list goes on.” ― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction ― from Childhood through Adulthood
“The brighter people struggle with the disorder longer, they’re not believed, nobody can think they got as far as they did and have ADHD.” ― Russell Barkley, Ph.D.
“The DSM … defines attention deficit disorder by its external features, not by its emotional meaning in the lives of individual human beings.” ― Gabor Maté
“When does a nerd turn into Asperger, which is just mild autism? I mean, Einstein and Mozart and Tesla would all be probably diagnosed as Autistic spectrum today.” ― Temple Grandin, 2010 TED Talk, “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds”
READINGS AND VIDEOS:
READINGS:
Sacks, O. (1995). An anthropologist on Mars. In An anthropologist on Mars: Seven paradoxical tales (pp. 255-316).
Kandel, E. (2018). The disordered mind – What unusual brains tell us about ourselves (pp. 41-69). Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. VIDEOS:
1. Neurological Disorders as Alternate Ways of Being (with Oliver Sacks): https://youtu.be/FST243lDYRQ?si=sI3o2Gg2bhgA2IdL
2. Oliver Sacks on Tourette Syndrome – Shane. The neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about Tourette Syndrome. Features Shane Fistell. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder that causes motor and vocal tics which vary considerably between individuals and impulsive behaviors and reduced inhibition (and filtering) of thoughts, movements, and sensory input. This may lead to a rapidity and expansiveness of thought processes and reduced reaction times. Obsessions and compulsions are a consistent feature of TS and may involve thoughts, speech, and movements, such as touching or evening things up and counting. This portrayal provides a sensitive and insightful perspective – a welcome and more representational alternative to the often-simplistic stereotypical media depiction of the disorder which has been responsible for much misunderstanding and distress to sufferers.
Part 1 of 3: https://youtu.be/ljX1rsMNA34?si=LAkDu_–M5PcpT9W
Part 2 of 3: https://youtu.be/jJYu_YA2skU?si=AY8UWRREkXLi5Upd
Part 3 of 3: https://youtu.be/sVD9XSRiH9U?si=NkT7OqpqguUqrl3B
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Apperly, I.A., & Butterfill, S.A. (2009). Do humans have two systems to track beliefs and belief-like states? Psychological Review, 116(4), 953-970.
Blumberg, S.J., Bramlett, M.D., Kogan, M.D., Schieve, L.A., Jones, J.R., Lu, M.C. (2013). Changes in prevalence of parent-reported autism spectrum disorder in school-aged U.S. children: 2007 to 2011-2012. National Health Statistical Report, 65, 1-11.
Boyle, C.A., Boulet, S., Schieve, L.A., Cohen, R.A., Blumberg, S.J., Yeargin-Allsop, M., Visser, S., & Kogan, M.D. (2011). Trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in US children, 1997-2008. Pediatrics, 127(6), 1034-1042.
Desaunay, P., Guillery, B., Moussaoui, E., Eustache, F., Bowler, D.M., & Guénolé, F. (2023). Brain correlates of declarative memory atypicalities in Autism: A systematic review of functional neuroimaging findings. Molecular Autism, 14(1), 2.
Grandin, T. (2006). Thinking in pictures: My life with autism. Knopf Publishing Group.
Greenspan, S.I., & Lewis, N. (2000). Building healthy minds: The six experiences that create intelligence and emotional growth in babies and young children. Da Capo Lifelong Books.
Greenspan, S.I., & Weider, S. (2005). Infant and early childhood mental health: A comprehensive developmental approach to assessment and intervention. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Greenspan, S. I., & Wieder, S. (2007). The developmental individual-difference, relationship-based (DIR/Floortime) model approach to autism spectrum disorders. In E. Hollander & E. Anagnostou (Eds.), Clinical manual for the treatment of autism(pp. 179–209). American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Greenspan, S.I., & Thorndike Greensman, N. (2010). The Learning Tree: Overcoming learning disabilities from the ground up.
Grinman, V. (2020). A retrospective exploration of the experience, interpretation, and perception of growth in parents of young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. ProQuest Dissertation Publishing.
Just, M.A., Keller, T.A., Malave, V.L., Kana, R.K., & Varma, S. (2012). Autism as a neural systems disorder: A theory of frontal-posterior underconnectivity. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(4), 1292-1313.
Kandel, E.R. (2007). In search of memory: The emergence of a new science of mind. W. W. Norton & Company.
Kandel, E.R. (2018). The disordered mind: What unusual brains tell us about ourselves. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Loomba, N., Beckerson, M.E., Ammons, C.J., Maximo, J.O., & Kana, R.K. (2021). Corpus callosum size and homotopic connectivity in autism spectrum disorder. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 313, 111301.
Mayor Torres, J.M., Clarkson, T., Hauschild, K.M., Luhmann, C.C., Lerner, M.D., & Riccardi, G. (2022). Facial emotions are accurately encoded in the neural signal of those with autism spectrum disorder: A deep learning approach. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 7 (7), 688-695.
McDougal, J. (1993). Plea for a measure of abnormality. Routledge.
O’Brien, M. (2007). Ambiguous loss in families of children with autism spectrum disorders. Family Relations, 56(2), 135-146.
Sacks, O. (1996). An anthropologist on Mars: Seven paradoxical tales. Vintage.
Shane, H.C. (2015). Enhancing communication for individuals with Autism: A guide to the visual immersion system. Brookes Publishing.
Shaw, K.A., Bilder, D.A., McArthur, D., et al. (2023). Early identification of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 4 years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2020. MMWR Surveillance Summer 2023, 72 (No. SS-1), 1-15.
Vollm, B.A. (2006). Neuronal correlates of theory of mind and empathy: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in a nonverbal task. Neuroimage, 29(1), 90-98.
SHORT BIO OF THE SEMINAR LEADER:
Inna Rozentsvit, M.D., PhD, MBA, MSciEd is a neurologist and neurorehabilitation specialist, trained in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, with extensive experience in brain trauma, autoimmune neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions.
Dr. Rozentsvit is a founder of the Neurorecovery Solutions, Inc. (neurorecoverysolutions.com), a non-profit organization which helps neurologically impaired and their caregivers in their often heart-breaking journey to well-being. She is also an educator who works with children and adults with learning and emotional disabilities, while applying knowledge from the fields of neurology, basic sciences, mental health, and pedagogy to solving puzzles of miscommunications and every-day interactions of these children and adults with their parents and significant others.
Dr. Rozentsvit is passionate about people and supporting the possibilities that all people are. This passion fueled her publishing endeavors, which realized into founding the ORI Academic Press (oriacademicpress.org), the MindMend Publishing Co., and the MindConsiliums (a trans-disciplinary journal with main focus on cross-pollination of knowledge and experience from various mental health, medicine, and science fields, mindconsiliums.org).
Dr. Rozentsvit is the scientific faculty member, programs director, and administrator of the Object Relations Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (ORI, www.orinyc.org) in NYC. Her course on Neurobiology for Psychoanalysts and Psychotherapists and the Parent-Child Development Program at the ORI include important for all mental health professionals topics: Neurobiology of Self; Neurochemistry of Emotions; Attachment Theory/ Love before First Sight; Neurological Disorders (Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis) through the Eyes of a Psychotherapist; Neurobiology of Psychosomatic Illness; Neuroscience of Anger and Violence; and others.
Jan Almasy, RN, is a Registered Nurse, entrepreneur, ADHD coach & lived experience advocate, who brings a combination of clinical expertise, entrepreneurial success, and authentic lived experience to understanding ADHD as a neurobiological variation rather than a deficit. As a Registered Nurse with a minor in Clinical Psychology, his clinical background includes intensive care, emergency trauma, and community mental health, providing him with deep insight into how ADHD presents across different settings and life stages.
Diagnosed with severe ADHD as an adult, Jan successfully developed “minimal medication” management strategies for his ADHD, transforming what many viewed as limitations into entrepreneurial superpowers. Leveraging these superpowers, he founded Apex Communications Network, a successful marketing consulting firm. Through his work with IndeCollective, Jan coached over 250 entrepreneurs and executives, with expertise in supporting neurodivergent business leaders. He currently serves as Head of Growth for SENT Ventures, a global faith-based business accelerator.
During his 7 years of service in the U.S. Air National Guard, he earned multiple Air Force Commendation and Achievement Medals after developing innovative training programs for recruits, demonstrating his ability to thrive in structured, high-performance environments while maintaining his authentic neurodivergent identity. This experience provided unique insights into how ADHD individuals can succeed in traditional systems without masking their true selves.
As a speaker and educator, Jan has delivered presentations on ADHD and achievement at conferences, universities, and professional organizations. His approach combines evidence-based understanding with practical, lived experience, helping audiences recognize ADHD not as a pathology to be managed, but as a different operating system with its own logic, creativity, and adaptive strengths.
Jan’s perspective is particularly valuable in today’s clinical landscape, where traditional deficit models often miss the underlying neurobiological gifts that can be leveraged for healing, growth, and exceptional performance.
CONTINUING EDUCATION:
Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis 2025 Summer Advanced Training in Psychoanalysis July 10, 2025 Online
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Amedco LLC and Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis. Amedco LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Professions in scope for this activity are listed below.
Psychologists (APA) Credit Designation
This course is co-sponsored by Amedco and Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis. Amedco is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Amedco maintains responsibility for this program and content. Maximum of 23.0 hours.
The following state boards accept courses from APA providers for Psychologists/Counselors: AK, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, IO, KS, MA (LEP ONLY), ME, MO, NC, ND, NH, NE, NJ, NM, NV, OK*, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY
The following state boards accept courses approved by any other state for Psychologists/Counselors: CO, MD
MI: No CE requirements. *OK: Accepts APA credit for live, in-person activities but not for ethics and/or online courses.
The following state boards accept courses from APA providers for MFTs: AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, MD, ME, MO, NE, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OK*, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WDC, WI, WY AL MFTs: Credits authorized by NBCC or any other state licensing agency will be accepted.
MA MFTs: Participants can self-submit courses not approved by the MAMFT board for review.
The following state boards accept courses from APA providers for Addictions Professionals: AK, AR, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IN, KS, LA, MD, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY (held outside NY ONLY), OK*, OR, SC, UT, WA, WI, WY
The following state boards accept courses from APA providers for Social Workers: AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IN, KY, ME, MN, MO, NE, NH, NM, OR, PA, VT, WI, WY
New York Board for Social Workers (NY SW)
Amedco SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0115. 23.0 credit hours.
New York Board for Psychology (NY PSY)
Amedco is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0031. 23.0 hours.
National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP)is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an Approved Provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychoanalysts. #P‑0019.6 hours.
To receive CE certificates for the actual hours attended – please request them at the time of registration or any time prior to beginning of the conference. CE certificate fee: $25 (in addition to the registration fees). No fees charged for PD (Professional Development) certificates from ORI.
REGISTRATION AND FEES:
Early Bird registration (before June 15th, 2025)
$90 regular/ $60 grad students & candidates/ $25 undergrad students
Regular registration (from June 15th, 2025 – to July 26th, 2025 – before 6pm EDT)
$120 regular/ $80 grad students & candidates/ $30 undergrad students
Registration ‘at the door’ (after 6pm EDT/NYC time on July 26th, 2025)
$130 regular/ $90 grad students & candidates/ $35 undergrad students
Please Note: IF CEs ARE REQUESTED — please use the “regular” registration (not a “student”) option. There is an additional fee of $25 for CE certificate processing (can be paid on the day of the conference or in advance).
SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS are available for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for retired or disabled practitioners, or need-based.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Full refund will be issued if cancelled before the beginning of the event.
No refund from the date of the event, but full paid tuition will be applied to any further ORI events.
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Amedco LLC and Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis. Amedco LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This course is co-sponsored by Amedco and Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis. Amedco is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Amedco maintains responsibility for this program and content. Maximum of 
Session 2: