ADHD assessment & therapy
Your brain isn't broken. It was never going to fit the standard shape.
Comprehensive ADHD assessment and evidence-based therapy for children, adolescents and adults — including the adult and female presentations that often go unrecognised for years.
What ADHD actually looks like — and why so many people are missed
ADHD is a difference in how attention, motivation and self-regulation are organised in the brain. It is not a lack of willpower. It is not something people grow out of. And it does not always look like the stereotype of a restless child who cannot sit still.
For many people — especially women, late-diagnosed adults, and anyone whose hyperactivity lives internally rather than externally — ADHD gets missed for years. The cost of that gap is often years of self-blame, burnout, or a quiet belief that something is wrong with you. A formal assessment cannot give you that time back, but it can give you a different framework for what has been happening, and a real path toward support.
Across the lifespan
ADHD looks different in children, teenagers and adults.
In children
Often the classic picture — difficulty sitting, trouble following multi-step instructions, impulsive decisions, big emotions that tip into meltdowns.
But also: children who daydream through class, who are called lazy, who are exhausted by end of day from holding it together at school.
In adolescents
Difficulty starting homework, forgetting assignments, cycles of guilt and self-criticism. Sometimes sensation-seeking, sometimes social withdrawal.
Often the first clear sign is academic slide in the years where structure falls away and self-management becomes the primary skill being tested.
In adults
Internal restlessness more than external hyperactivity. Chronic difficulty starting or finishing tasks. Emotional intensity. Exhaustion from years of compensation.
Often arrives at diagnosis after burnout, a child's diagnosis, or a major life transition that removes the scaffolding that was quietly holding things together.
What an ADHD assessment involves
There is no single test for ADHD. A proper assessment is a careful, multi-source clinical process that takes the question seriously.
1. Initial clinical interview
A detailed conversation about what has been happening, how it has been affecting you, and what you are hoping to understand. For children, this includes a parent or carer interview. For adults, it draws on your own memory and any school reports still available.
2. Developmental history
ADHD is a developmental condition, so the pattern in childhood matters. We map how things looked at school, at home, in social settings, and across transitions.
3. Validated rating scales
Questionnaires completed by you and, where relevant, a parent, partner, or close other. These offer structured evidence alongside the clinical picture, not a replacement for it.
4. Clinical impression and report
A written report covering the findings, diagnostic impression, practical recommendations for home, school or work, and suggested next steps — including whether referral for medication review may be appropriate.
What sessions cost
Individual sessions are $230 for 50 minutes. With a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, Medicare rebates $98.95 per session for up to 10 sessions per calendar year, leaving a gap of $131.05.
NDIS, TAC and WorkCover funding are also accepted. See full fee information →
ADHD therapy — what we actually do
Diagnosis is a starting point, not an ending. Therapy for ADHD focuses on the parts of life the diagnosis helps explain — and building skills, scaffolding and self-understanding that make things more workable.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for ADHD
Adapted CBT for ADHD focuses on the practical skills — planning, time awareness, task initiation — and on the layers of self-criticism that often sit over the top. Evidence supports it as a helpful adjunct, particularly when paired with medical management where indicated.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT works on the relationship between you and your thoughts rather than trying to change their content. For many people with ADHD, the self-criticism — "I should be able to do this" — is more disabling than the ADHD itself. ACT is particularly good at loosening that grip.
Co-occurring conditions
ADHD rarely travels alone. Anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and autism are common companions. A good therapy plan considers the whole picture rather than working on ADHD in isolation.
How to access ADHD support
Privately
You can self-refer. Medicare does not rebate the assessment itself, but individual therapy sessions are rebatable under a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP.
If medication review is appropriate after diagnosis, I can liaise with your GP for onward referral to a psychiatrist or paediatrician.
Under NDIS
For NDIS participants, ADHD assessment and therapy may be funded through your plan, particularly where ADHD is accompanied by other conditions creating functional impact.
Self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed participants all welcome.
Questions we hear about ADHD assessment
How long does an ADHD assessment take?
A comprehensive ADHD assessment typically involves an initial clinical interview, validated rating scales completed by you (and, where relevant, a parent, partner or close other), and a detailed developmental history. Depending on complexity, the full process usually takes between two and four appointments, with a written report provided afterwards.
Can a psychologist diagnose ADHD, or do I need a psychiatrist?
In Australia, a registered psychologist can conduct a comprehensive ADHD assessment and provide a diagnostic opinion. However, medication for ADHD can only be prescribed by a medical practitioner — usually a psychiatrist or paediatrician. If medication may be appropriate, we can coordinate with your GP and refer on as needed.
Does Medicare cover an ADHD assessment?
Medicare does not fund the assessment itself. However, individual therapy sessions — including sessions used to support you during and after an assessment — may be rebated under a Mental Health Care Plan. For NDIS participants, assessment and therapy may be funded through your plan.
What does ADHD look like in adults, especially women?
In adults, ADHD often looks less like the childhood stereotype of visible hyperactivity and more like internal restlessness, difficulty starting or finishing tasks, emotional intensity, and exhaustion from years of compensation. Many women and people assigned female at birth are diagnosed later in life after years of masking, often following burnout, a child's diagnosis, or a major life transition.
My child may have ADHD. When should I seek an assessment?
If difficulties with attention, impulse control or regulation are persistent across settings — for example, at home and at school — and are affecting learning, friendships or wellbeing, a formal assessment can bring clarity. Early support matters, but there is no age that is too late, and waiting until things are obvious is not necessary.
What does the ADHD report include?
The written report summarises the assessment findings, the clinical impression, and practical recommendations for home, school or work. Where appropriate, it also includes guidance for further referral (for example, to a paediatrician or psychiatrist for medication review) and suggested therapeutic supports.
Often alongside ADHD
Autism (ASD) assessment
ADHD and autism frequently co-occur. When both are present, an integrated assessment changes the whole picture.
Read more →Anxiety therapy
Chronic anxiety is one of the most common companions to adult ADHD, and often eases once the underlying pattern is named.
Read more →NDIS psychology
For participants accessing ADHD assessment or therapy through the NDIS.
Read more →If any of this sounds familiar, the next step is simpler than it feels.
Book an initial consultation, or start with a free 15-minute call to ask whatever you need to ask first.