Executive Functioning in Adults

Executive Functioning in Adults is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that provides strategies to help adults overcome executive functioning deficits.

Executive functioning (EF) is an umbrella term for the various complex cognitive processes that are responsible for cognitive control of thoughts and actions that are necessary to maintain goal‐directed behavior in pursuit of the attainment of future goals (Holst & Thorell, 2018). Executive skills allow one to organize their thinking and behavior over extended periods of time and override immediate demands in favor of longer-term goals. These skills are critical in planning and organizing activities, sustaining attention, and persisting until a task is complete. Individuals who do not have well developed executive functioning skills tend to have difficulty starting and attending to tasks, redirecting themselves when a plan is not working, and exercising emotional control and flexibility.

This course is divided into four sections, beginning with illustrations of what executive functioning skills are, and the specific abilities they involve. This section will also discuss the causes and various symptoms of executive functioning deficits. Section two includes descriptions of, and strategies for, the development of the twelve executive functioning skills. Section three provides an overview of the self-esteem issues that face adults with executive functioning skill deficits, and general strategies clinicians can use to address such issues during treatment. The fourth and final section presents a wide variety of tips and resources that can be used in preventing the adverse effects that accompany deficits in executive functioning.

Course #31-32 | 2021 | 63 pages | 20 posttest questions