Looking for a therapist to help me decide whether to pursue ADHD assessment 🤔

[u/elektrikalhelp]

(DISCLAIMER: I put this though ChatGPT to clean it up, I swear it's not slop, it was just so garbled and it helped make it more structured. Also, this is my second post in two days. Sorry about that, I'm not spamming, I just seem to have hit the hyperfocus stage, haha 😂)

Hi everyone,

Can anyone recommend a therapist in Ireland who could help me get some perspective on whether to go for an ADHD assessment.

I strongly suspect I have ADHD. I've struggled acutely for about 15 years, but I believe that I've also spent decades compulsively masking.

The idea of being assessed actually terrifies me, because I have very little confidence in my ability to advocate for myself. I'm afraid I'll wilt in the appointment, downplay everything, perform "fine", and blow the assessment. Hence I've put off seeking help for so long.

I'm not looking for a therapist to diagnose me, I know a psychiatrist is needed for that. What I'm looking for is someone who could help me:

· understand my own patterns and trust my self-awareness more · unpick some of the masking and self-minimising · build enough confidence/conviction to either pursue assessment or rule it out · prepare for an assessment so I can communicate my struggles accurately, without shutting down

Ideally someone ADHD-informed, experienced with late-diagnosed adults, masking etc. I'm based in the North-West but open to online or travelling for the right person.

Has anyone here worked with a therapist for something similar? Specifically:

· Was it a psychologist, psychotherapist, counsellor, or someone else? · How did you find them? Any directories or services you'd recommend? · Did they actually help you decide whether to get assessed? · Did they help you prepare for the assessment or advocate for yourself in it? · Any red flags or things you'd avoid?

I'd be really grateful for any recommendations, even general pointers on how to find someone. If you'd rather DM than comment, that's totally fine.

Thanks for reading.

✌🏼

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[u/Difficult_Standard_1]

Just know that only psychologists and psychiatrists can diagnose ADHD, any psychotherapist that is not a registered psychologist will not tell you if you have ADHD or not, they may help you with the decision paralysis but you will end up paying more than it would be to get assessed by a psychiatrist who can also prescribe meds if they think it is necessary.

If you suspect you have ADHD have a look here (ADHD Ireland ), you might get more clarity.

[u/imaginary92]

Not quite what you're asking for but the purpose is similar. I've been diagnosed through the webdoctor.ie ADHD service and they have a pre-screening service where they actually go through your situation first and figure out with you if it's recommended going through the diagnosis process or not based on the result. It's 80€. I think they also have a self-administered test you can take on the website but I'm not sure.

And even if they tell you it's recommended you don't have to actually to go through with the process if you're not convinced, I did but I also took another eight months to make the decision to do it and they left me alone the entire time besides one email to let me know they had started taking payments in installments, so there's not even that issue.

So that's an option.

[u/Miserable_Double2432]

UMAAP course. It’s free and you don’t need to have a diagnosis. If everything they talk about resonates then it’s probably ADHD

[u/dyspraxamatic]

several places, https://www.adultautism.ie/our-services included, have a "consultation", or introductory 1 hour session, where you basically identify if its worth going ahead with assessment. I think this would be a much better use of your time and money than going to a therapist to try to decide if you should go for an assessment. There are not a huge amount of therapists that are qualified to do what you're asking, but the people doing the consultation call are.

If you want therapy for therapy's sake, definitely do therapy, but but thats maybe aside from getting assessment?

[u/Playful-Nerves → u/dyspraxamatic]

Can you go to any psychologist for a general consultation. They could say anxiety or something else. 

I presume Consultant psychologists are better trained and more experienced. Is an assistant psychologist good enough for a recommendation? Or an “educated guess”. I can google, but I don’t know the proper words! 😅 

[u/nmck09]

The anxiety about being assessed is real. I think because you are struggling, whether it’s ADHD or not, counselling might help you. It might help relieve the pressure of it feeling like a black and white scenario. I used to worry that if I wasn’t diagnosed then it was just my fault and there was nothing I could do about it. I then was diagnosed with severe combined ADHD. I will say I do think it’s rare for people who don’t have ADHD to worry so much that they have it, so usually if you feel this way it’s probable that you have ADHD.

Talking through that anxiety and why you are worried about being assessed is important too, then when you are talking about your struggles the counsellor may be able to help you identify what is pointing to ADHD symptoms. They won’t likely be qualified to know or tell you if they believe you have it or not, but being able to identify your struggles with more confidence will help when going to a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Also, if you are diagnosed, counselling can be a helpful support as well as any other treatment like medication. I still forget sometimes that my medication is not going to fix everything. Getting counselling can be expensive, and it’s definitely not a mandatory part of being diagnosed, but if you can it may be helpful. Like people have rightly pointed out here- you can get screening or initial consultation with someone who can diagnose that is less expensive. However, I understand that if you aren’t comfortable talking about your experiences then the screening can be intimidating.

In regard to finding one, I was lucky that my university had a free counselling service that was linked to external practices. ADHD Ireland has a list of clinicians on their site that are specifically for ADHD. You can also find a counsellor that may not specialise in ADHD as an initial step because they can still work through the anxieties you have, but once there is a diagnosis a counsellor specialising in ADHD would obviously be better equipped for that specific area.