ADHD assessments for adults and children

I am a fully qualified adhd specialist trained in adhd coaching, assessment, workshops, and support.

This is NOT a diagnosis, but an assessment to support seeking diagnosis. This assessment will provide a referral to NHS services for diagnosis. 

I use an assessment process called ACE and ACE+ which is used around the world, the assessment will take between 90 minutes and two hours, depending on how we progress throughout the session. By the end of the session, I will be able to provide you with a detailed assessment and conclusion of findings. For you to then take to be diagnosed, either via the NHS or privately. 

These sessions will done via zoom video call.  (Video will need to be on, you can opt to not be able to see yourself, on your end if you prefer).

These assessments will look at current impacts on day to day life, and the historical symptoms throughout childhood. This may require, where possible further evidence from parents/carers and school reports. (This can all be discussed before the assessment). I will contact schools, parents and GP's where needed for evidence.

The assessment is taken in a non-judgemental approach, with deep compassion and understanding for each unique individual. It is a more personalised approach than you may find going through a large service provider. And further support after the session will be offered where available. 

To book please select bookings in the drop down menu. 

ADULT/CHILD/TEEN ADHD COUNSELLING PROGRAMMES:

ADHD counselling is an intervention strategy in which a counsellor works with a person to set goals (Long-term, short-term or daily). Designed to enhance executive skills, leading to improved self-regulation and resulting in goal attainment. 

People with ADHD have definitions with executive functioning. Executive functions are: 

Response inhibition: The capacity to think before you act.

Working memory: The ability to hold information in the memory whilst performing complex tasks. It incorporates the ability to draw on past learning or experience to apply the situation at hand or to project into the future.

Emotional control: The ability to manage emotions in order to achieve goals, complete tasks, or control and direct behaviour. 

Flexibility: The ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information or mistakes. It relates to the adaptability to change conditions.

Sustained attention: The capacity to maintain attention to a situation or task in spite of distractibility, fatigue or boredom. 

Task initiation: The ability to begin projects with undue procrastination, in an efficient or timely fashion.

Planning / prioritising: The ability to create a roadmap to reach a goal or to complete a task. It also involves being able to make decisions about what’s important to focus on and what’s not important. 

Organisation: The ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information of materials. 

Time management: The capacity to estimate how much time one has, how to allocate it, and how to stay within the time limits and deadlines. It also involves a sense that time is important. 

Goal directed persistence: The capacity to have a goal, follow through to the completion of the goal and not be put off or distracted by competing interest. 

Metacognition: The ability to stand back and take a Birdseye view of ones self in a situation. It is the ability to observe how you problem solve. It also includes self-monitoring and self-evaluating skills (e.g., asking yourself “How am I doing? Or how did I do”)

Stress tolerance: The ability to thrive in stressful situations and to cope with uncertainty, chance and performance demands. 

How the counselling sessions will work:

The client can choose how many counselling sessions they would like weekly, this can be one or more sessions. The idea is that the client and the counsellor work together to identify areas of change the client wants to make. We set reasonable and reachable goals, and move towards making this a normal behaviour that is routine. We take small steps, learning new methods, recharging our understanding of these methods, until they are just natural behaviours. The idea of ADHD counselling is to work together until the client feels they no longer need the support, and can move forward with the learnt methods by themselves. The counsellor will use methods that are goal driven, personalised to each client, and created to work for people with ADHD. 

How many sessions should a person have: 

This is different for each client. Counselling should ideally start out with as many sessions as possible, but I understand financially this is not always possible. So there is the option to have interim sessions in-between the counselling sessions. The amount of sessions, or the length of your counselling will depend on how much you want to do, and how long you want to be having counselling sessions. To see a change in behaviours you will need to be looking at having counselling for longer periods of time for example 6 months rather than 6 weeks. The more sessions you have, the more contact you have, the quicker you will see a difference. But with executive functioning, this takes time, and the steps are small, but impactful. 

Who can have ADHD counselling?:

I provide counselling for children age 10+, teenagers, adults, parents of those with ADHD and relationships with ADHD. It is important to know, that if your child does not want to do ADHD counselling, and does not want to make the changes, the process will not work. And this is something that will be monitored and parents will be made aware. You cannot force someone to make changes in their life. 

What is counselling for parents?:

Counselling for parents can be done once a week, or once every two weeks, and the sessions will be teaching parents how to implement skills and set goals for their child. Basically I will teach you how to be the counsellor for your child. 

What is relationship counselling:

This is working with a couple, to explore ADHD, teaching both members of the relationship what ADHD is, and working together as a couple to set goals, grow understanding, and support one another.

But I am too old to learn new things?:

This is a myth ! You are never too old to change your thinking or functioning. We do recommend starting counselling as young as possible, but this is because things are easier to learn from a younger age. If you are willing to learn and you want to see changes then this can be done. The brain is always changing, right up until the end. We have the ability to make new memories, learn new things, and literally change the shape of our brain! It is all about having a growth attitude. 

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