What we treat
ADHD
Adult ADHD is real and treatable — and very different from the cliche of a hyperactive kid. We do thorough evaluations, careful treatment, and we don’t take shortcuts.
What ADHD looks like in adults
Most adults with ADHD aren’t the visibly hyperactive kid from a 1990s movie. The pattern usually shows up as:
- Difficulty starting tasks, especially the boring or hard ones
- Time blindness — underestimating how long things take, running late chronically
- Trouble organizing — physical, mental, or both
- Strong emotional reactions, especially to perceived rejection or criticism
- Excellent focus on things that genuinely interest you, but trouble making yourself focus on things that don’t
- Feeling like you’re working harder than other people just to keep up
About 4–5% of adults meet criteria for ADHD. Many people are diagnosed for the first time as adults — usually after a transition raised the demands (new job, parenthood, leadership role) and the workarounds stopped being enough.
How we evaluate ADHD
Our ADHD evaluation is a real evaluation — not a five-minute checkbox.
- Validated screening tools — the same ones used in research, including the ASRS (Adult Self-Report Scale).
- Comprehensive history — childhood symptoms, school history, work history, relationships, current functioning.
- Differential diagnosis — ruling out (or diagnosing alongside) conditions that can look like ADHD: depression, anxiety, sleep problems, trauma history, substance use, thyroid issues.
- Real conversation with your clinician — not just a questionnaire.
If you’re looking for a clinic where someone signs off on ADHD in five minutes and writes a prescription, this isn’t that practice. We take the diagnosis seriously, which is the same reason we take treatment seriously.
Treatment options
Medication
Stimulants (methylphenidate-based or amphetamine-based) are first-line for most adult ADHD. Non-stimulant options (atomoxetine, guanfacine, viloxazine, bupropion) are right for some patients — particularly those with substance use history, certain cardiac conditions, or insufficient response to stimulants.
Stimulants are controlled substances, so we follow standard guidelines: baseline cardiac assessment, ongoing monitoring, careful dose titration, and Connecticut Prescription Monitoring Program checks.
Skills and strategies
Medication alone often isn’t the whole answer. Many adults benefit from CBT for ADHD (focused on time management, planning, and emotional regulation), executive function coaching, and structural changes to how work and home are set up.
If you have other things going on
About half of adults with ADHD also have depression, anxiety, or substance use issues. We screen for everything during your evaluation and treat them together. Treating ADHD without addressing the rest usually produces incomplete results.