ADHD Services

How we work with ADHD clients

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological difference impacting a person’s executive functioning including organization, memory, focus, planning, and impulsivity.

Generally, people think of ADHD and imagine a loud, energetic child disrupting class. This is a very limited and misleading perspective! In addition to productivity and organization, ADHD impacts a person’s confidence, mood, ability to recognize and regulate emotions, social relationships, and family life.

  • As a child, this results in disengagement from school, consequences that just don’t work, and a lot of blame given and received.

  • For teens, behavior may become more disruptive, avoidance and blame increase, and symptoms of depression and anxiety are common.

  • Adults with ADHD often experience missing job deadlines, overcommitting to professional and personal responsibilities, missing bill payments, feeling overwhelmed by basic “adulting” tasks, and increased conflict in relationships with kids, spouses, co-workers, and friends.

Late-Diagnosed ADHD

Many clients seek therapy at pivotal transition points in life, because they’re feeling completely overwhelmed, burnt out, and are having difficulty completing the tasks that were once much easier to complete. Oftentimes, this is after leaving college, starting a career, or having a child. These are also the times that late-diagnosed ADHD is finally spotted.

For others, late-diagnosed ADHD comes after numerous attempts at therapy and medication management don’t help their anxiety or depression symptoms. We know that therapies and medications used to treat anxiety and depression don’t address ADHD. In fact, more often than not, anxiety and depression are secondary symptoms when ADHD is present.

We talk to numerous clients who have broached ADHD with their doctor, psychiatrist, or previous therapists only to be told that if they actually had ADHD it would have been diagnosed in childhood. This is simply not true and can cause years of delay for someone trying to find answers and strategies that are actually effective in their life.

Common ADHD Experiences

  • Forgetfulness

    Misplacing essential items like keys and phones, missing appointments and deadlines, forgetting to complete daily tasks like paying bills or taking medication, losing track of conversations, and entering a room and forgetting your purpose

  • Easily distracted

    Being unable to block out unimportant or visual distractions in order to focus on the matters at hand

  • Difficulty starting mundane tasks

    Task-initiation paralysis can include procrastination, indecisiveness, and an inability to get started on projects

  • Feeling overwhelmed

    By disorganization or the feat of getting started

  • Conflict in close relationships

    Can be caused by emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and inattention

  • Emotional regulation

    Having emotions that feel too big or come out of nowhere

  • Social difficulties

    This can include interrupting others or talking excessively and/or missing important cues or information due to distractions

  • Always moving

    Fidgeting, foot tapping, drumming on the table, etc

  • Persistent Drive for Autonomy (PDA)

    A deep, nervous-system-level need to feel safe, in control, and not pressured

  • Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

    An intense emotional response to perceived rejection, criticism, or failure—real or imagined

    • Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is an intense emotional response to perceived rejection, criticism, or failure—real or imagined. For many neurodivergent people, especially those with ADHD or autism, RSD can feel overwhelming and deeply painful. It’s not about being “too sensitive”—it’s about having a nervous system that feels rejection as a full-body experience.

    • If you or your child feel crushed by criticism, avoid situations where you might be judged, or seem to take things “too personally,” this may be part of what’s going on.

    • We see this as a sign of how deeply you care. RSD often comes from a history of being misunderstood or feeling like you have to work extra hard just to belong. In therapy, we create space to untangle those experiences, strengthen self-worth, and build resilience—without asking you to shut down your feelings.

    • Some neurodivergent individuals—both kids and adults—experience what’s known as a Persistent Drive for Autonomy (sometimes called the PDA profile). This isn’t about being defiant or oppositional—it’s a deep, nervous-system-level need to feel safe, in control, and not pressured. Even everyday requests (like “put on your shoes” or “answer this email”) can feel threatening if they’re experienced as a loss of agency.

    • Underneath the surface is often anxiety, sensitivity, and a creative, adaptive mind trying to find freedom in a world that feels unpredictable or overwhelming.

    • We approach PDA with compassion, flexibility, and a deep respect for autonomy. That means working collaboratively, reducing pressure, and finding ways to honor needs without triggering overwhelm. When safety and trust are present, connection and growth naturally follow.