Individual Psychotherapy and Parenting Services
Psychotherapy for ADHD
ADHD therapy is a tailored collaborative partnership by which individuals are empowered to develop the awareness, cognitive processes, behavioral patterns, and environmental structures to overcome the performance deficits caused by weakened executive skills. My approach involves emphasis on educating the patient about ADHD in general, as well as developing a strong knowledge of one’s own ADHD unique to him/herself. Strategies and actions are then designed to strengthen specific executive function skills, and progress is monitored by creating accountability in concert with goals. Interaction patterns within relationships can also be a focus in ADHD therapy, especially in helping other family members understand the nuances of ADHD and facilitating stronger relationships within the family and with peers.
I offer formal ADHD diagnostic testing for children and adults, including the scoring, interpretation, and graph reporting. The diagnostic tests I use are the Conners 4 for children ages 6-18 , Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Sales (CAARS 2) for adults; the Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory (CEFI) for children ages 5-18, the Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory- Adult (CEFI-Adult) for adults; Children’s Depression Inventory 2 (CDI-2), and the Multi-dimensional Scale for Children, Edition 2 (MASC-2) for rule-out/co-existing diagnoses for children, and the Profile of Mood States - 2nd Edition (POMS2) for rule-out and/or co-existing diagnoses for adults.
If you are interested in diagnostic testing, please feel free to contact me and make arrangements. More information on rates for this service can be found on the ‘Rates’ page.
“If you’ve met one person with ADHD, you’ve met one person with ADHD.”
Individual Psychotherapy
Are you struggling with certain challenges in your life?
Do you find yourself preoccupied with worry over some aspects in your life?
Do you sometimes feel hopeless or burned out, overwhelmed by a problem?
Could you use an objective, trained professional as a sounding board to navigate through hard times?
Individual therapy offers the patient the opportunity to tailor goals and realize a life conducive to what works for you. Therapy sessions create and develop an individualized therapeutic process and safe environment to explore the most vulnerable thoughts and feelings. If you would like to discover a life that fits with you, then individual therapy could be the solution.
Parenting Therapy
The parent therapy sessions I offer provide parents of children with ADHD with related education, home behavior interventions, strategies conducive to the ADHD brain, and a safe place to ask questions, and explore options. The parenting boundaries, rewards, and consequences effective for non-ADHD children are not effective for kids with ADHD. Parenting therapy sessions provide the education and strategies that work with children who have ADHD and executive function deficits.
Children with ADHD also struggle with emotional regulation, as well as the self-monitoring necessary to keep track of what they need to follow through on tasks. Parenting sessions may include teaching the younger child how to manage their emotions through behavioral therapy techniques. Sessions for parents may involve supporting parents in coping with defiance and formulating boundaries, and assisting children, tweens, and teens with cognitive self-monitoring strategies.
Testing may include the Conners Early Childhood (Conners EC) for children ages 2-6 to assess behavior, social, and emotional issues, as well as measures whether or not major developmental milestones (Adaptive Skills, Communication, Motor Skills, Play, and Pre-Academic/Cognitive) are being met, the Conners Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales (CBRS) for children ages 6-18 to assess a wide range of behavioral, emotional, social, and academic concerns and disorders and/or the Burks Behavior Rating Scales 2nd Edition (BBRS-2) to assess issues such as Disruptive Behavior, Social Withdrawal, Physical Deficits, Attention and Impulse Control Problems, Emotional Problems, Ability Deficits, and Weak Self-Confidence.