I provide ADHD assessment and Clinical Psychology for adults who want to understand not only whether ADHD is present, but how attention, executive functioning, emotional regulation, learning history, relationships, work and other psychological factors interact in their particular life.

My work with ADHD extends across more than three decades of clinical, educational and psychological practice. It is also informed by longstanding work with giftedness, learning differences, couples and families, university teaching, psychological assessment and organisational settings.

Appointments are available in Narara on the Central Coast, NSW, and by telehealth across Australia.

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There is more than one way ADHD can present

Two people can both have ADHD and experience it very differently.

One may have persistent difficulty sustaining attention, beginning tasks, remembering obligations and completing routine work.

Another may be restless, impulsive, fast-moving and continually seeking stimulation.

Another may show both patterns.

Others may function extremely effectively when something is novel, urgent or intensely interesting but struggle disproportionately with ordinary administration, routine maintenance or tasks that do not generate enough interest.

Some adults compensate so successfully that difficulties are not recognised until professional demands, parenthood, relationship pressures or burnout make the underlying pattern harder to maintain.

Formal diagnosis distinguishes between predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive and combined ADHD presentations.

I also look beyond those diagnostic categories.

Diagnosis tells us whether ADHD is present.

Formulation asks the next question:

How does ADHD operate in this particular person?

ADHD is a pattern, not just a checklist

A useful assessment may consider:

• attention and distractibility
• task initiation
• procrastination
• planning and sequencing
• time management and time perception
• everyday working-memory demands
• impulsivity
• restlessness
• novelty seeking
• interest-based attention
• difficulty shifting attention
• emotional regulation
• frustration tolerance
• motivation
• perfectionism and compensatory behaviour
• anxiety and mood
• sleep
• learning history
• relationships
• occupational environment
• strengths as well as difficulties

The purpose is not to create another label.

It is to understand why the same person may perform exceptionally well under some conditions and struggle considerably under others.

Beyond the three recognised ADHD presentations

I sometimes use additional self-report and clinical formulation tools to examine patterns within an ADHD presentation.

These may explore combinations involving anxiety, overfocus or cognitive rigidity, emotional dysregulation, mood, impulsivity, attention and other characteristics.

One supplementary framework I have experience using is based on the broader ADHD pattern model developed by Amen Clinics.

I do not use brain SPECT imaging, and these additional patterns are not treated as formal DSM or ICD ADHD diagnoses.

They are used, where clinically useful, as one additional source of information.

The distinction is important:

Formal diagnosis is based on recognised diagnostic criteria. Additional inventories may help us understand the individual pattern within and around that diagnosis.

No questionnaire determines treatment by itself.

Treatment should be based on the whole clinical picture.

Adult ADHD Diagnostic Assessment — $1,850

My standard Adult ADHD Diagnostic Assessment is intended for adults who want a formal psychological assessment of whether ADHD adequately explains their difficulties.

The assessment includes clinically appropriate components such as:

• detailed developmental and clinical history
• examination of current ADHD symptoms
• childhood evidence and developmental course
• impairment across more than one setting
• validated ADHD measures
• relevant collateral information where available and appropriate
• review of relevant records where useful
• assessment of executive-function difficulties in everyday life
• screening for important differential and co-occurring conditions
• clinical formulation
• feedback consultation
• written psychological report
• treatment and referral recommendations

The total package fee is $1,850.

A GP referral is not required to undertake a private ADHD assessment.

Comprehensive ADHD diagnostic assessments are privately billed and should not be assumed to attract a Medicare rebate.

Complex ADHD & Differential Diagnostic Assessment — $2,450

Sometimes the clinical question is considerably broader than:

“Do I have ADHD?”

You may be wondering whether the difficulties are better explained by ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout, learning differences, autism-related characteristics, sleep, a previous head injury, another psychological condition—or several overlapping factors.

The Complex ADHD & Differential Diagnostic Assessment allows additional professional time for more extensive assessment, collateral information, record review, differential formulation and reporting.

The package fee is $2,450.

It does not include IQ testing, comprehensive autism diagnostic assessment or formal neuropsychological testing.

Where those are required, I recommend the appropriate additional practitioner.

ADHD Profile & Treatment Formulation — $650

Some people already have an ADHD diagnosis.

Others do not currently need another formal diagnostic assessment but want a much better understanding of their individual ADHD pattern.

For these clients I offer a two-hour ADHD Profile & Treatment Formulation Consultation.

This may include selected self-report inventories, examination of attentional and executive-function patterns, emotional regulation, work demands, relationship effects, strengths, obstacles and current treatment.

The consultation is $650.

This is not a substitute for formal diagnostic assessment where a new formal diagnosis is required.

Its purpose is different:

to understand what your diagnosis actually means in your life and what might be useful to do with that information.

What else can look like ADHD?

Not every attention problem is ADHD.

Careful assessment may require consideration of:

• anxiety
• depression
• trauma and PTSD
• chronic stress and burnout
• sleep disturbance
• substance use
• bipolar-spectrum presentations
• obsessive or rigid patterns
• autism-related characteristics
• learning differences
• giftedness or high ability
• acquired or traumatic brain injury
• medical contributors
• environmental overload

Several of these can also coexist with ADHD.

A good assessment should therefore be capable of concluding:

yes, ADHD appears to be present;

no, ADHD does not appear to be the best explanation;

or:

ADHD appears to be part of a more complex picture.

ADHD, giftedness and learning differences

For some people, the problem has never been lack of ability.

It has been inconsistency.

They may understand complex material easily yet repeatedly fail to complete ordinary tasks.

They may generate sophisticated ideas while struggling to organise them.

They may excel in highly stimulating environments and underperform in routine ones.

They may have been told throughout life that they were bright but careless, capable but inconsistent, or not living up to their potential.

My doctoral research examined adults who were both gifted and learning disabled. That research contributed to a longstanding interest in what happens when areas of significant ability coexist with equally genuine areas of difficulty.

This may include ADHD, learning differences, giftedness, compensatory strategies and what is sometimes described as twice-exceptionality.

I do not provide formal IQ testing or comprehensive psychoeducational intelligence testing.

When formal intellectual, achievement or neuropsychological testing is required, I refer that component to an appropriately trained psychologist or Clinical Neuropsychologist.

My role is clinical assessment and formulation: understanding how the person’s developmental, attentional, psychological and functional patterns fit together.

[Learn about Gifted Adults & Learning Differences]

What about autism?

ADHD and autistic characteristics can overlap.

I can explore autistic characteristics where they are relevant to the clinical picture and use appropriate adult self-report instruments as part of broader formulation.

This may include discussion of:

• social communication experiences
• masking or camouflaging
• sensory differences
• routines
• cognitive rigidity
• intense interests
• developmental experience
• social exhaustion
• overlap with ADHD

Self-report inventories do not by themselves establish an autism diagnosis.

I do not provide comprehensive specialist autism assessments involving ADOS-based assessment, formal intellectual assessment or multidisciplinary autism assessment.

I am also not positioning this practice as a specialist service for people with intellectual disability or high autism support needs.

Where a comprehensive autism assessment is needed, I recommend an appropriately trained practitioner or service.

ADHD is not only about deficits

ADHD can create real impairment.

It can affect relationships, work, finances, education, organisation, self-esteem, emotional regulation and everyday functioning.

It should not be romanticised.

At the same time, it does not make sense to assume that every characteristic associated with an ADHD-style cognitive profile is necessarily undesirable.

Some adults describe characteristics such as:

• creativity
• rapid generation of ideas
• intense interest-based attention
• energy
• spontaneity
• flexibility
• willingness to explore unconventional possibilities
• resilience
• entrepreneurial thinking

The same characteristic can help in one context and interfere in another.

Rapid idea generation can support innovation and make prioritisation difficult.

Intense interest can produce extraordinary productivity and leave other responsibilities unattended.

Novelty seeking can encourage exploration and lead to unnecessary risk.

The useful question is therefore not:

“Is ADHD an advantage or disadvantage?”

It is:

“Which parts of this pattern are helping you, which are costing you, and how can we change the balance?”

Treatment after diagnosis

Medication can be extremely useful for some people with ADHD.

It is not the whole treatment.

I do not prescribe medication, but I can work alongside your GP, psychiatrist or other medical practitioner where medication is part of your care.

Psychological treatment may address:

• executive-function systems
• task initiation
• procrastination
• planning
• prioritisation
• emotional regulation
• anxiety
• secondary depression
• perfectionism
• shame and self-concept
• environmental design
• habits and routines
• relationship difficulties
• occupational functioning
• burnout
• decision-making
• maintaining useful strengths while reducing costly patterns

I do not assume that ADHD must be treated through one particular psychotherapy model.

Treatment may draw on cognitive and behavioural approaches, psychoeducation, environmental modification, developmental and systemic understanding, relationship work and broader Clinical Psychology depending on the person.

ADHD in relationships

ADHD can become a relationship problem long before either partner understands why.

One partner may feel repeatedly criticised.

The other may feel repeatedly let down.

Over time the relationship can become organised around reminding, forgetting, pursuing, avoiding, controlling and apologising.

Attention, time management, impulsivity, emotional regulation and follow-through can affect:

• agreements
• household responsibilities
• parenting
• finances
• communication
• sexual and emotional connection
• conflict
• trust
• work-life boundaries

Recognising ADHD does not excuse harmful behaviour.

Nor does it mean the other partner should simply accommodate everything.

The task is to understand what ADHD contributes, what belongs to the relationship itself, and what each partner needs to change.

[Learn about ADHD in Couples & Relationships]

ADHD in professional life

Some adults with ADHD struggle most obviously at work.

Others become extremely successful.

The demands of professional success can nevertheless expose patterns that were previously manageable.

A founder, executive, clinician, academic, entrepreneur or creative professional might work brilliantly with novel, urgent or complicated problems while finding routine administration disproportionately exhausting.

Work may focus on:

• strategic versus operational functioning
• prioritisation
• delegation
• follow-through
• documentation
• decision-making
• accountability
• overcommitment
• impulsive changes in direction
• boredom
• intense work cycles
• burnout
• communication with colleagues
• business-partner relationships
• designing work around strengths without ignoring responsibilities

[Learn about ADHD, Executive Function & Leadership]

Standard ongoing Clinical Psychology

Following assessment, some people want only the report and recommendations.

Others continue into treatment.

Standard Clinical Psychology sessions are $300 for 60 minutes.

Eligible individual treatment sessions may attract a Medicare rebate where Better Access referral requirements are met.

The ADHD assessment package itself is separately priced and is not simply billed as a series of ordinary $300 therapy sessions.

What I provide

I provide adult ADHD diagnostic assessment, complex differential assessment, ADHD treatment, psychological formulation, ADHD-related couples and family work, and executive/professional consultation.

I can also explore whether learning history, giftedness, autistic characteristics, trauma, mood, anxiety, burnout, sleep or other factors appear relevant.

I do not provide formal IQ testing, comprehensive autism diagnostic assessment, ADOS assessment, comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, brain imaging or medication prescribing.

When another form of assessment is needed, I will say so.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Clinical Psychologist diagnose ADHD?

Yes. An appropriately trained and competent psychologist can diagnose ADHD.

Clinical Psychology also provides advanced training in assessment, diagnosis, formulation and treatment.

Are inattentive and hyperactive ADHD different?

They are recognised ADHD presentations.

A predominantly inattentive presentation may look quite different from a predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation, and a combined presentation includes clinically significant features of both.

Treatment should nevertheless be individualised rather than determined by the presentation label alone.

Do you use the Amen Clinics seven-type ADHD inventory?

I have experience with an additional self-report framework based on the pattern model associated with Amen Clinics and may use it where it adds useful clinical information.

I do not treat those seven patterns as formal DSM or ICD ADHD diagnoses, and I do not use SPECT brain imaging.

The inventory is supplementary.

Recognised diagnostic criteria, developmental history, impairment, differential diagnosis and the broader clinical picture remain primary.

Do I need an IQ test?

Usually not for ADHD diagnosis.

I do not provide IQ testing.

If a separate intellectual, learning or neuropsychological question requires formal testing, I will recommend an appropriate practitioner.

Can you prescribe medication?

No. Psychologists in Australia do not prescribe ADHD medication.

What if I already have a diagnosis?

You can attend for treatment or for an ADHD Profile & Treatment Formulation Consultation without repeating an entire diagnostic assessment where that is not clinically necessary.

Can ADHD affect relationships?

Yes. ADHD can influence attention, follow-through, emotional regulation, organisation, communication and division of responsibilities.

I work with both the ADHD-related issues and the relationship system itself.

What if I am not sure whether it is ADHD?

You do not need to decide first.

That is one purpose of proper assessment.

Start with the question you actually have

You may want a formal ADHD assessment.

You may already have a diagnosis and want to understand it more deeply.

You may be wondering whether ADHD is affecting your relationship.

Or you may simply know that something about the way you function has never completely made sense.

We can begin there.

Dr Scott Terry, Clinical Psychologist

Narara, Central Coast NSW
Telehealth Australia-wide