ADHD Therapy in Redondo Beach — FAQ
What does ADHD therapy actually involve, beyond just talking about focus and organization?
ADHD therapy with me goes beyond productivity hacks and planners. We work on the emotional layer that so often gets missed — the shame spirals, the rejection sensitivity, the years of feeling "too much" or "not enough" — alongside practical strategies that actually fit how your brain works. The goal isn't to make you more neurotypical; it's to help you build a life that works with your wiring instead of against it.
How do I know if it's ADHD and not just anxiety or being overwhelmed?
ADHD and anxiety often show up together and can look similar from the outside — racing thoughts, difficulty settling, trouble finishing things. A few threads tend to point toward ADHD specifically: patterns that trace back to childhood even if they weren't named then, a sense of time that never quite matches everyone else's, and effort that doesn't translate into follow-through no matter how much you care. A proper evaluation can help sort this out, and I can talk through that process with you.
What's "rejection sensitive dysphoria," and can therapy help with it?
Rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is the intense emotional pain many people with ADHD feel in response to real or perceived criticism, failure, or rejection — it can feel disproportionate to the moment but is entirely real to your nervous system. Therapy can help you recognize RSD as it's happening, build a different relationship with that flood of feeling, and reduce how much it's steering your decisions and relationships.
I was only diagnosed as an adult — is that common, and does therapy still help?
Extremely common, especially for women and anyone who learned to mask well enough to slip under the radar for years. Adult diagnosis often comes with a specific kind of grief — mourning the years spent thinking you were lazy, careless, or broken when you were actually just unsupported. That grief is real work we can do together, alongside building the strategies and self-understanding you didn't get earlier.
Do you work with ADHD alongside other things, like trauma or grief?
Often, yes — ADHD rarely shows up alone. Many of my clients are navigating ADHD together with trauma, grief, or both, and untangling which struggles come from which source is part of the work. I specialize in all three, which means we don't have to pick one thread and ignore the others.
Do you diagnose ADHD, or do I need an evaluation first?
As a therapist, I don't provide formal ADHD diagnoses, but I work closely with clients through the evaluation process and can refer you to a psychologist or psychiatrist for testing if you don't already have a diagnosis. Many of my clients come to me with suspicions of a diagnosis — already diagnosed - sometimes recently, sometimes decades ago — looking for support that finally addresses the emotional weight of living with ADHD, not just the logistics.
Where are you located, and do you offer telehealth for ADHD therapy?
I'm based in Redondo Beach and see clients throughout the South Bay and greater Los Angeles area, in person and via telehealth. For clients with ADHD, virtual sessions can actually remove some of the friction — no drive time, no waiting room — though some prefer the structure of coming in. Either works.
Can therapy help with ADHD if I'm already taking medication?
Yes, and the two often work best together. Medication can help regulate attention and impulse control, but it doesn't address the years of internalized shame, the relationship patterns, or the executive-function habits that need to be rebuilt — that's where therapy comes in. If you're not on medication and are curious whether it might help, I'm happy to talk through that and refer you to a prescriber.
I've tried therapy before, and it didn't stick — will this be different?
A common reason ADHD-related therapy doesn't stick is that it wasn't built around how an ADHD brain actually engages — too much homework, too little structure, or approaches that assume consistent follow-through between sessions. I build in flexibility and accountability that account for executive function differences, not against them, so the work is more likely to actually take hold.