ADHD Treatment

ADHD is a neurological difference that affects how the brain regulates executive functioning, which includes higher-level skills like attentional selection, impulse control, emotion regulation, and organization.

It comes in 3 presentations:

❋ About ADHD

  • Difficulty sustaining focus, following through on tasks, and staying organized. People with this type often appear forgetful or "in their own world" and are less likely to be disruptive, which means they're frequently overlooked or diagnosed later in life.

  • Difficulty sitting still, waiting, and acting before thinking.

    It can look like constant movement, talking excessively, interrupting others, or making impulsive decisions without considering consequences.

    As we age, the hyperactivity becomes more internal and can feel like a sense of restlessness or always needing to be doing something.

  • Includes symptoms of the above two types.

ADHD comes with real challenges. It also comes with real strengths. Therapy can help you understand both.

❋ What to Expect in Therapy

ADHD treatment is always tailored to you, but some people find it helpful when therapy helps them to:

  • Understand ADHD, its strengths, and its challenges

  • Build executive functioning skills, such as:

    • Managing, following through, and getting started on tasks

    • Staying organized

    • Thinking before you take action

    • Regulating emotions and rejection sensitivity

    • Memory + forgetfulness

  • Address concerns that co-occur with ADHD, such as:

    • Mood issues, like depression or anxiety

    • Low self-esteem + negative self-talk

    • Sleep issues

    • Trouble functioning at work, school, home, or in relationships

Dr. Steph works with:

  • Children

  • Teens

  • Adults

  • Parents of children with ADHD

❋ Working Together

She uses CBT, ACT, and skills-based approaches in ADHD treatment.

For young children, parent coaching and parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) techniques are also often part of the work.

FAQs

  • Absolutely! However, they're diagnosed far less often. Girls and women are more likely to mask, internalize, and compensate in ways that fly under the radar.

    If you’re a parent of a daughter who seems like she's holding it together but is exhausted by it, or if you’re a woman who has spent years wondering why things feel harder than they should, it's worth exploring potential ADHD.

  • To put it simply, no. Treatment will not “cure” ADHD, and that’s also not necessarily the goal.

    ADHD is a neurological difference, not a problem to be fixed. While treatment can’t rewire your brain, it can make an enormous difference in how you function, how you feel about yourself, and how much ADHD interferes with your daily life.

    Treatment often focuses on learning to work with your ADHD, as well to appreciate the ways that ADHD makes you who you are.

  • Some people (especially women and high achievers) slip through the cracks because they found ways to compensate early on. It is not uncommon to make it to adolescence or adulthood before the demands of life outpace those coping strategies and symptoms become harder to ignore.

  • Yes. ADHD can show up in relationships as forgetfulness, difficulty listening, impulsivity, or emotional sensitivity. Understanding your ADHD can be a turning point not just for you, but for the people closest to you.

  • One of the most underappreciated parts of ADHD is the emotional piece. Rejection sensitivity, low frustration tolerance, and mood swings are part of the picture for many people.

    Mood issues and low self-esteem frequently travel alongside ADHD too, often as a result of years of struggling or feeling like something is fundamentally “wrong” with you.

  • Not at all. While ADHD comes with real challenges, it also comes with strengths that often go unrecognized. Many people with ADHD are creative, intuitive, energetic, and able to think outside the box in ways others can't. The hyperfocus that makes it hard to switch tasks can also make you exceptionally good at the things you care about.

    At Evergrow, we take a strengths-based approach to ADHD because understanding the full picture means recognizing what makes you who you are, not just what makes things hard.

  • This is a really common starting point. Many clients come to Evergrow with a suspicion that they (or their child) may have ADHD but don't have a formal diagnosis.

    The diagnostic process depends on the person. In some cases, Dr. Steph can determine a diagnosis by evaluating and gathering specific information in therapy. Other times, she may refer you to another trusted psychologist for a more comprehensive assessment to get a clearer picture. You can learn more about evaluations here.

    And for those who suspect ADHD but don't want or need a formal diagnosis, therapy can still help. A diagnostic label isn't a requirement for effective treatment.

  • Evidence shows that therapy and medication together can work better than either alone for ADHD.

    If you're already working with a prescriber, Dr. Steph can coordinate with them as needed. She can also connect you with her trusted, local referral sources that she has built connections with.

    The choice to take medication or not is a personal one, and you’ll be supported no matter your decision. Regardless of medication, therapy builds the life skills and self-awareness that medication alone doesn't address. You don't need to take medication to benefit from therapy here.

    Also, while Dr. Steph can refer you to psychiatric prescribers, she does not personally prescribe any medication since she is a clinical psychologist. So, it won’t impact the care you receive at Evergrow and is always your call to make.

  • This speaks to a common misunderstanding about ADHD. ADHD isn't an inability to pay attention. Instead, it's difficulty regulating where attention goes.

    The ability to “hyperfocus” on high-stimulation, rewarding activities is actually a common trait in ADHD.

  • This is one of the most common questions people with undiagnosed ADHD ask themselves. ADHD is not a lack of motivation or effort. It is a neurological difference that affects how the brain regulates attention, impulse control, and executive functioning.

    Many people with ADHD work twice as hard just to keep up.

  • Yes, many other diagnoses (e.g., anxiety, depression, learning disorders, etc.) also because executive dysfunction that can mimic (or co-occur with) ADHD.

    That’s one of the reasons it's important to work with a psychologist who has specific ADHD expertise.