You sound like you know what you're talking about. Is there a difference between childhood and adult therapy? I, like many in this thread, identify with others inability to "choose when to focus". I'll often dedicate large parts of days to "work" only to meet a total lack of impulse to actually do it. Going to a coffee shop helps, as I feel that is a place for study and those around would judge me if I'm not studious. I have on and off days in this sense. As a recent college grad, who has never been diagnosed or tested for ADHD how can I find out more?
What I'm asking is how to find a professional near me that will help me to understand myself and to identify areas to make improvements.
Fourth year clinical psychology doctoral student here. I'll try and answer some of your questions.
There are many differences between childhood and adult therapy. In fact, therapy should be tailored to the individual's needs. While therapy (in all senses) shares underlying traits, the interactions between the goals of the client, the client's worldview, the therapists theoretical orientation, etc. result in each individual client-therapist relationship being different. Children differ from adults in many ways, and therefore therapy needs to use strategies that appeal to these developmental differences. For instance, children can often speak through play, so therapists will use play with them rather than speech.
How can you find out more? I like the previous reply that suggested you go to a general practitioner. That individual could probably give you a few screeners and give you a diagnosis, but if it's a wealth of knowledge you're looking for then ask to be referred to a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist has specialized in these kinds of disorders and will have much more information for you.
The last line of your post is different. To me, it indicates you're looking for more than just how to understand your ADHD symptoms. If you're searching for ways that you can better yourself through understanding and actions as a person, then I suggest you see a counselor/psychologist. As stated above, if you're communicative with this individual then this experience can be full of self-exploration and discussions about ways you can manage these symptoms. You might learn a whole bunch of other stuff while you're at it.
sup. We're on the same team, professionally. You may not hear it enough, but thanks for all you do, along with everyone else working in mental health specialties.
Some people with ADD have hyper focus too, and will block out everything around them, I heard of a guy not hearing a fire alarm because he was working on a project, someone had to grab and break his attention on the project so he could hear it.
Just going off of my own experience, but depending on your insurance situation, you may need to go to a GP first in order to get a referral to a psychiatrist. If your insurance will allow it, you could just go straight to the psychiatrist probably. I went to my GP first, who then referred me to a psychiatrist, who is now treating me, BUT the psychiatrist referred me to a psychologist for official testing. The psychiatrist told me they will usually start treating patients with medication if they're confident that they have ADHD, but then require that they get an official diagnosis from a psychologist within about 6 months in order to continue (or change, depending on the diagnoses) treatment.
TL;DR - Find out if your insurance will let you go straight to a psychiatrist and, if not, make an appointment with your GP first.
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u/gnome_where May 30 '17
You sound like you know what you're talking about. Is there a difference between childhood and adult therapy? I, like many in this thread, identify with others inability to "choose when to focus". I'll often dedicate large parts of days to "work" only to meet a total lack of impulse to actually do it. Going to a coffee shop helps, as I feel that is a place for study and those around would judge me if I'm not studious. I have on and off days in this sense. As a recent college grad, who has never been diagnosed or tested for ADHD how can I find out more?
What I'm asking is how to find a professional near me that will help me to understand myself and to identify areas to make improvements.