When you’re living with ADHD, therapy can be life-changing. But here’s the truth: not all therapy is created equal. And not all therapists get ADHD.
I say this all the time: if it isn’t me you end up working with, fine—but please, make sure it’s with someone who truly understands ADHD. Not just someone who sayyys they do.
ADHD isn’t “just focus”
ADHD isn’t just about distraction. It’s a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts executive functioning—time management, prioritizing, emotional regulation, starting and finishing tasks.
That’s why ADHD is often called a performance disorder, not a knowledge disorder.
Most of my clients know exactly what they should be doing. They just can’t consistently get themselves to do it. That frustrating gap between knowing and doing is ADHD. And unless your therapist understands that, you’ll leave therapy feeling misunderstood—or worse, like you’re the problem.
Why general therapy often misses ADHD
A well-meaning general therapist might:
- Tell you to “try harder” or “just get organized.”
- Interpret forgetfulness as resistance.
- Focus on talking and insight, instead of action and strategies.
- Treat what looks like depression, anxiety, or even bipolar—without realizing ADHD is hiding underneath.
The result? You end up feeling stuck, unseen, or convinced therapy “doesn’t work for you.”
My story
Before my ADHD diagnosis, I was a therapy junkie. I spent years in psychodynamic psychotherapy—double, back-to-back sessions, two or three times a week. And while some things got a little better, the truth is, it never touched the core of my struggles.
Why?
Because traditional psychodynamic therapy is too passive for ADHD’ers. It’s reflective, insight-oriented, and slow-moving. For some people, that’s transformative. But for me—and for so many ADHD brains—it wasn’t enough.
I didn’t need endless analysis of why I was stuck. I already knew the “why.” What I needed was someone to help me move when my brain froze. To show me that my so-called resistance wasn’t laziness, but executive dysfunction. To give me scaffolding, accountability, and strategies that actually worked with my wiring.
Instead, I walked away from years of therapy believing I was the problem—too resistant, too much, too broken.
The reality? I wasn’t broken. I was undiagnosed. And I was in the wrong kind of therapy.
Why I specialize in ADHD
I’m not a jack of all trades—I specialize in ADHD. It’s what I live, breathe, assess, and treat every day.
The truth is, I can treat depression, anxiety, or bipolar in my sleep. But ADHD? That’s the one I love. Because it’s the one that challenged me the most.
ADHD is slippery. It hides behind other diagnoses. It mimics depression, anxiety, even bipolar. And for years, that’s exactly what happened to me—I was told I had everything except ADHD. I wasted time chasing the wrong answers, stuck in therapies that never really fit.
Now? I’m living proof that when ADHD is finally seen for what it really is, life can change. That’s why I do this work. Because I know the difference it makes when someone finally feels understood and gets tools that actually work with their brain.
That’s not just professional for me. It’s personal.
What an ADHD specialist does differently
An ADHD-informed therapist knows the difference between:
- Depression and ADHD inactivation.
- Anxiety and the restless ADHD mind.
- Bipolar highs and lows versus ADHD’s hyperfocus-and-burnout cycle.
We understand that:
- Emotions in ADHD are fast, intense, and short-lived.
- Time isn’t felt in minutes and hours, but in “now” and “not now.”
- Accountability and structure aren’t crutches—they’re lifelines.
- Motivation doesn’t precede action. For ADHD’ers, action creates motivation.
ADHD-informed therapists don’t just listen or “hold space.” We teach, coach, troubleshoot, and normalize the shame and self-criticism that so often ride shotgun with ADHD.
The bottom line
If you have ADHD, don’t settle for therapy that “kind of” gets it. You deserve someone who speaks the language, sees the nuances, and knows how to work with your wiring.
Because once you work with a therapist who truly understands ADHD, everything shifts. Therapy stops being about “trying harder” and starts being about working smarter, with the brain you have.