Therapy for Adult ADHD

You have been told to try harder for years. Effort was never the missing piece.

Adult ADHD can affect how you manage time, start and finish tasks and keep track of what matters. Our work focuses on practical, CBT-based strategies and on structure that fits how your mind actually works, rather than how you think it should.

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Beyond the restless stereotype

ADHD in adults often looks different from the restless stereotype. It tends to show up as trouble judging how long things take, starting tasks that feel dull or vague, keeping track of details and finishing what you began. Interest and urgency can carry you a long way, while a routine task sits untouched for weeks.

Overwhelm is a frequent companion. When everything seems equally important, or nothing feels urgent until it is late, a day can dissolve into small detours. A great deal of effort may go into simply keeping up, and that effort is often invisible to the people around you.

Years of being told to try harder tend to leave a mark. Self-criticism builds up over time, and you may have come to see yourself as lazy, careless or unreliable, when the real issue was never how much you cared.

Work and relationships feel the effects too. Missed details, unfinished projects and forgotten plans can strain trust with colleagues, friends and partners. If the diagnosis came later in life, or you are only now starting to wonder, you may also be rethinking years that look different in hindsight.

Time slipping away
Unfinished tasks
Constant overwhelm
Harsh self-talk

Why trying harder has not worked

Much of this traces back to executive functions, the mental systems that help you plan, prioritize, get started and sustain effort. ADHD affects how those systems work, and willpower cannot stand in for them. A plan that depends on remembering, self-motivating and resisting distraction all at once tends to buckle under ordinary pressure.

A familiar cycle can follow. A deadline gets close, stress rises, you scramble to finish in a last-minute rush and promise yourself next time will be different. When it is not, the self-criticism grows louder, and that shame makes starting even harder.

Borrowed systems often stall for a similar reason. A planner, an app or a morning routine that works for a colleague may not suit how your attention operates, and dropping it can feel like one more failure.

Recognizing the pattern can bring real relief. Instead of asking what is wrong with you, we can start asking which kind of structure would actually support you.

Structure should fit your mind, not the other way around.

Practical strategies built around you

Our work is practical and grounded in CBT. We look closely at where your days tend to break down, whether that is getting started, estimating time or switching between tasks, and design small strategies for those specific points.

Structure helps most when it matches how you actually work. That could mean making the first step of a project concrete, setting up reminders outside your head, pairing a dull task with something you enjoy or planning the week in a way you can realistically keep. We try each idea in daily life and adjust it based on what happens.

Solution-focused work draws attention to what already goes well, such as the days when things got done, so we can build on it. Motivational Interviewing helps when you feel torn about change, perhaps worn out from past attempts or unsure the effort will pay off.

DBT skills offer ways to handle frustration and overwhelm in the moment, before one setback colors the rest of the day. We also pay attention to the inner critic, so it has less say in how you treat yourself and what you attempt next.

Diagnosis, medication and other support

I do not diagnose or test for ADHD, and I am not a prescriber. When a formal evaluation or a medication evaluation would help, I can suggest an appropriate professional, so each part of your care sits with the right person.

If you already work with a prescriber and give permission, I can coordinate with them so that therapy and any medication pull in the same direction.

Anxiety, low mood and burnout can overlap with ADHD, and alcohol or other substances sometimes become a way to cope with the strain. Those threads are part of the picture, and we can decide together which one to start with.

Where to begin

All sessions are one to one over secure video, and you will need to be physically in Connecticut, New York or Massachusetts each time we meet. If you plan to use insurance, I am in network with most major plans, Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna among them, and MultiPlan lists me as a participating provider.

If arranging therapy feels like one more task on an already long list, keep the first step small. Request a free consultation on the Work With Me page, and we can talk through what has been getting in the way and whether my style fits what you need.

Common Questions

Questions People Ask

Can you tell me whether I have ADHD?

No. Formal testing and diagnosis for ADHD are outside what I offer. If you want that clarity, I can suggest an evaluation with an appropriate professional, and we can talk about how therapy might fit alongside it.

Can online therapy work if I get distracted easily?

It can. A quiet, private room and silenced notifications help, and we can close each session with clear next steps so the work stays anchored between appointments.

Is it too late to address ADHD as an adult?

No. Recognizing ADHD in adulthood can stir up relief, frustration and grief for earlier years, sometimes all at once. Therapy gives you room to make sense of that while building practical strategies for the life you have now.

Is therapy for ADHD just productivity tips?

No. Practical strategies are part of it, but so is the self-criticism that tends to build after years of struggling. We work on both, because a plan is easier to keep when you are not also fighting yourself.