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ADHD Assessment and Support

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ADHD assessment and support reading, berkshire

Adults

Why is ADHD sometimes only ‘picked up’ in adulthood?

The adult world is a highly demanding place. We’re expected to manage multiple responsibilities independently, both in our working and personal lives. Some of us will have struggled with the symptoms of ADHD when we were younger, but we either managed to ‘mask’ them (at great effort and cost) or we were seen at best to be ‘a bit disruptive’ and told to ‘try harder, be more organized’. Often the characteristics of ADHD were poorly understood and ‘missed’. Many of us will have been criticised – “You’re not stupid, why can’t you just focus!’. If this has been your experience, you might have come into adulthood wondering if there is something ‘wrong’ with you, and resolving to put in more effort to make up for it. This can either make no difference, or can lead to burnout, anxiety and low mood.

Why can a diagnosis be helpful?

Many clients have told us that a diagnosis has been highly validating, helping them to understand and accept the person they are, and enabling them to make positive choices about how they move forward in life. We offer a ‘gold-standard’ comprehensive private assessment using the most up-to-date psychometric tools and findings. But we don’t just diagnose – we work to help clients move forward with recommendations, supporting them to make changes in their lives that will foster positive mental health. Our goal is to help clients embrace and maximise their strengths, while making it easier to face the challenges that come their way. That’s why all our ADHD assessments include a full session for feedback and strategy work as standard.

What’s involved

We use National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Royal College of Psychiatrists guidelines to provide an ADHD assessment and diagnosis that is comprehensive and takes into account all the factors that could impact an individual’s experience and presentation.

  • Stage 1 - ADHD Screen: A 1-hour appointment after you’ve completed several validated questionnaires. We explore the difficulties in depth and give feedback, thinking with you whether a full diagnostic assessment would be indicated and helpful.
  • Stage 2 - Full Diagnostic Assessment: Including formalised assessment with the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults (DIVA), alongside additional interviews with you (and close others) exploring your developmental history and current life difficulties.
  • Stage 3 - QbCheck: QbCheck is a computer-based assessment tool. It provides important objective information as part of an ADHD assessment (it does not provide a diagnosis on its own). The test measures the core symptoms associated with ADHD including hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention/distractibility. It uses age and gender matched comparisons to produce reliable data to aid clinical judgment.
  • Stage 4 - Data Review and Report: We spend time reviewing all the information and data to consider a formal diagnosis; we prepare a full report for you which can be shared with key others if you would like it to be (e.g. employers, family members etc).
  • Stage 5 - Feedback & Strategy Session: A full session for feedback on the assessment and diagnosis, opportunity to review the report with the team and ask any questions you may have as well as to discuss the implications of the report in more detail with support to make plans to implement the recommendations 'in real life'.

Ongoing support and check-ins

Once the assessment is concluded, you are welcome to book back in with us when needed for further strategy support and/or to access psychological therapy as needed.

Please note, as a clinic of psychologists we do not prescribe medication but we can offer some names and contact details of potential prescribers should this be your choice.

Fees

Initial Screening Appointment: £125

Full ADHD Assessment: £769 (including QbCheck)

Further Individual Sessions: £125

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Opening times

Monday - Saturday

(by appointment only)

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Our address

23 Prospect Street, Caversham,

Reading, Berkshire, RG4 8JB