Richardson ADHD Therapy

According to the CDC, an estimated 7 million (11.4%) U.S. children aged 3–17 years have ever been diagnosed with ADHD. As awareness and diagnostic criteria have improved, diagnosis has become more common, especially for girls and adults.

ADHD has many different presentations and can look different from one person to the next. As a therapist with ADHD myself, I understand how a lot of different qualities of ADHD can show up not just as a professional therapist, but personally as well. I understand what it feels like for mundane tasks to get lost in the shuffle and to wonder what is wrong with me that I can never remember where I put something even though I said I was putting it somewhere I would definitely remember.

But I also understand that ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning that the brain is literally different. And rather than trying so hard to do exactly what everyone else seems to do, I want to help you understand how to work with your brain instead of constantly fighting against it.

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What is ADHD?

ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Notice how it’s framed as a deficit and a disorder—two pretty negative words that honestly don’t even capture what ADHD really is.

  1. There isn’t an inherently lower capacity for attention as implied with the word “deficit.” You’ve probably noticed that people with ADHD are able to focus at a very high level (sometimes called hyperfocus) on something that they’re interested in. They are often the people who can tell you everything about every kind of dog breed because they wanted to learn what kind of dog they should get and researched it in depth until 2am for the past three weeks. They may or may not have ever actually gotten a dog. So it really isn’t a deficit as much as it is a difference.

  2. ADHD is a natural variation in the brain. According to evolutionary science, it was likely highly beneficial when humans used to be hunters and gatherers. Traits like restlessness and constant scanning of the environment for new sights and sounds were advantageous for survival, scouting, and hunting. This is why there is a big movement in the neurodiverse community to reject the word “disorder.”

It’s only in environments where people are expected to be still and focus on uninteresting tasks for a long time that these natural differences can become highly disabling, leading to burnout and frustration.

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What are the symptoms of ADHD?

Unfortunately, as modern day humans, we often have to sit and deal with uninteresting tasks, so you can see where the symptoms of ADHD come in. Some signs of ADHD include:

  • Intense focus on things that interest you, but difficulty paying attention to tasks that are boring or routine even if they’re important (like homework or your finances).

  • Anything that takes a long time and a lot of planning or organizing feels overwhelming, even if you know you need to or even want to do them.

  • Any distraction (like a text, a bird outside the window, or even your own thoughts) can easily pull your focus away.

  • Starting is the hardest part, so if you do get distracted, getting back into what you were doing can feel daunting even when you know you were just doing it a minute ago.

  • You may fidget, tap your feet, doodle, or even get up and walk around when sitting is expected because your body feels like it always has to be doing something.

  • Even if you can keep your body still, your mind may race. Your head is never quiet, even when you first wake up. There might be a song stuck in your head constantly, you may be replaying that conversation from yesterday, or maybe you’re imagining every future scenario for when you meet your friend for coffee tomorrow.

  • It’s difficult to stop yourself from doing things even if you repeat don’t do it, don’t interrupt, let them finish to yourself. You feel rude or sometimes even dumb for jumping into conversations or activities without fully considering consequences.

  • Emotions might seem more intense for you than they do other people. Others might call you sensitive or dramatic, but your emotions really do shift quickly and sometimes feel out of control.

  • Keeping track of appointments, deadlines, and time in general is hard. The only times that seem real are “now” and “not now.”

You may notice all of these signs or only some of them. There are three presentations for ADHD even though they’re all still attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

  1. Predominantly inattentive ADHD

    Difficulty paying attention or being easily distracted are the most commonly endorsed symptoms of ADHD with over 90% of people endorsing inattentive symptoms in one study. Approximately a third of people diagnosed with ADHD have this subtype where they experience few if any symptoms of hyperactivity.

  2. Predominantly hyperactive ADHD

    Difficulty sitting still and blurting out answers to questions before fully thinking about them are the hallmarks of hyperactive or impulsive symptoms. This subtype is the most rare and only makes up about 7% of those diagnosed with ADHD according to one study.

  3. Combined ADHD

    Both inattentive and hyperactive symptoms are present in this subtype. It is also the most common presentation with over 60% of people endorsing both types of symptoms.

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ADHD therapy can help

Even though it is a lifelong condition, ADHD doesn’t have to be a deficit or a constant struggle. Learning about ADHD and actual strategies that work with your brain in therapy can reduce the feelings of guilt and shame about why you can’t just be like other people. While medication may help reduce symptoms such as inattention or hyperactivity, therapy addresses the emotional, behavioral, and daily life challenges that often accompany ADHD.

According the the National Institute of Health (NIH), therapy is especially helpful for those who have ADHD along with anxiety or depression. While researchers are still trying to understand why, adults with ADHD are 3 times more likely to develop Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and roughly 50% of people with ADHD also have anxiety according to the CDC. My areas of focus reflect how all of these overlap so that I can best support my clients as a whole person and not just a single diagnosis.

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Meet Lindsey Bass, ADHD specialist in Richardson

In case we haven't been introduced yet: Hi, I'm Lindsey Bass, a Licensed Professional Counselor in the Dallas, Texas area. I specialize in helping people of all ages who are struggling with ADHD to learn how to effectively manage symptoms. I know that planners do not work for everyone (even if I was the ADHDer who compensated with them and so many colored pens). I work with my clients to identify what is and is not working and brainstorm alternative solutions. Creativity is one of the strengths that often comes with ADHD, and whatever works is what we’ll do. One of my clients and I figured out that pretending to be a medieval inn-keeper working to support their family helped them get the dishes done. It created the sense of urgency while also allowing them to be playful and enjoy a mundane activity by using a story to keep it interesting. If you want to learn more about my background, feel free to visit my About Me page, but I want to get into how working with a therapist that actually has ADHD can help you manage challenging situations, improve self esteem, and lead a more fulfilling life.

My approach to therapy for ADHD in Dallas

Oftentimes, people think of ADHD as a deficit, but ADHD isn’t only about challenges. Many people with ADHD are creative problem solvers, quick to recognize patterns, and thrive in fast-paced environments. My approach to therapy is affirming, meaning that I don’t think that ADHD (or any other form of neurodiversity) is a problem to be “fixed.” Many neurodivergent individuals have spent years trying to hide their differences in order to fit in or meet expectations. These strategies (often called masking) may have helped in some ways, but over time they become more and more draining. Masking is especially common among women, girls, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people who were diagnosed later in life because they may have learned early on that their natural behaviors were criticized or misunderstood. My goal is to help you understand not just your difficulties but also your strengths, provide support to quiet that inner critic, and help you accept and love your authentic self.

Psychoeducation

Oftentimes people are diagnosed with ADHD and then… that’s it. No one tells you what it means other than you might have difficulty concentrating and fidget a lot. Sometimes people may even tell you things that aren’t accurate about ADHD out of their own misconceptions. But that doesn’t really help you understand what ADHD means for you or what to do now. Learning about how your brain actually works and how to work with it instead of against it can help us collaboratively develop strategies that support everyday life while also reducing any internalized shame.

For example, people with ADHD tend to experience time differently. While some people can gain motivation from picturing the end of a project, oftentimes people with ADHD have difficulty actually feeling anything related to future consequences until they’re imminent. That’s part of why procrastination tends to be so high in ADHD. It’s not a choice, but rather the consequence of how motivation and attention systems interact differently in ADHD brains. Instead of asking “why didn’t you just start earlier?“ lets figure out what obstacles were in the way and how to reduce them.

Unmasking and Increasing Self-Esteem

Masking can be a conscious or unconscious way to suppress or compensate for specific traits that others may not understand. Unmasking means reducing the efforts spent hiding differences and allowing yourself to use the supports that actually work for your brain. For example, a lot of people with ADHD will try not to fidget even though there’s evidence that fidgeting helps people with ADHD concentrate and regulate their emotions. I definitely worried about what other people might think of my fidgeting. I’ve kept a pop-it key-chain on my car keys for years, but I still tried not to use it much when I was called for jury duty because I was worried about what others would think. However, by the end of the trial, no one had said anything negative and a few other people had even told me what a good idea it was and brought fidgets to help them concentrate too. We all need to ask ourselves "If I weren't worried about being judged, would I still be doing this because it works for me or would I only do it because I think I should?" sometimes. Then together in therapy, we can challenge the underlying negative assumptions and find better ways forward.

Skill Building

Everyone is different and the skills you need to accomplish your goals may be totally different from anyone else’s. You’ve probably heard “just use a planner“ more times than you can count, but it’s such generic and basic advice that it doesn’t help. Even though I love my planner, I have one very specific set up and anything different would not work for me. I needed to identify the system that was realistic and sustainable for me. Therapy is about identifying patterns and obstacles and creating systems and supports that actually work while unlearning all of the unhelpful messages like "just try harder." You’ve been trying hard. You just may not have had the actual answers and strategies you needed to be successful.

Supporting Executive Functioning

Executive functioning refers to a set of mental skills that help you manage yourself in order to achieve goals. Executive functioning isn’t just one skill, and while executive dysfunction is often a part of ADHD, it will often look different from one person to another. Some people may have difficulty with planning how to start while others know exactly what to do but struggle to initiate. Some may be able to monitor and realize when they’ve lost their train of thought and actively try to remember where they were going while others will forget how they got onto that topic and keep going. Together we can figure out where your strengths are and strategies for supporting areas of weakness.

Myths and Facts about ADHD

The knowledge that we now have of ADHD has grown and evolved significantly since it was first named Attention-Deficit Disorder in 1980s. A big reason for this change is neuroscience and brain imaging studies which have allowed us to understand the actual biological basis for certain patterns of development, including ADHD. Understanding ADHD can reduce stigma and encourage people to recognize the many strengths that come with ADHD, not just the negatives.

  • FACT: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning that there are identifiable patterns in how the brain processes information that are unique to a certain group of people. While symptoms change over time and they may be less noticeable in some adults, it is a lifelong condition and people can have ADHD at any age.

    Compared to children, adults may be able to stay in their chairs, but they may fidget with their hands or pens to do so. They may be able to control their impulses more, but they still struggle to manage stress.

    Some adults may not have been diagnosed with ADHD when younger because their teachers or family did not recognize the disorder or they managed to compensate for symptoms well until demands increased with adulthood.

  • FACT: Even though sex and gender are distinct concepts, ADHD research tends to use these concepts interchangeably. Generally, boys (people assigned male at birth) are 2-3 times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls (people assigned female at birth). The difference in childhood diagnosis rates is not because ADHD affects “boys” more than “girls,” but rather how the symptoms typically present and get recognized. Some people may be better at hiding symptoms or experience them more internally (e.g. daydreaming vs. running around the classroom), making ADHD harder to detect. Low mood, mood swings, or anxiety may be brushed off as common or misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression when they are really symptoms of unmanaged ADHD.

  • FACT: Not only does ADHD have three presentations describing how it can look different, even people with the same sybtype can have significant differences. One person may be more likely to run and climb but the person who talks excessively may also be showing signs of hyperactivity.

  • FACT: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving differences in brain structure, brain activity, and neurotransmitter functioning. Just because there isn’t a physical sign like a rash or fever doesn’t mean that the impact of ADHD isn’t real. Oftentimes people struggling with ADHD want to do something but feel paralyzed to start, no matter how much they tell themselves they need to. ADHD isn’t a lack of ability, intelligence, or willpower—it’s a difference in how the brain processes information that requires different strategies than simply “pushing through.” While it may work in the short term, forcing productivity tends to result in burnout and poorer performance over time.

  • Medication can help many individuals manage symptoms, but it is not the only treatment option. Counseling, school accommodations, parent training, organizational coaching, and play therapy can all be effective parts of treatment. Like with many other mental health concerns, many people benefit most from a combination of approaches rather than medication alone.

  • While there are many challenges that come with living with ADHD in today’s society, it is not all bad. Many people with ADHD develop strengths related to the way their brains process information. People with ADHD may be able to see possibilities that others overlook and generate multiple, unique solutions to the same problem. Divergent thinking along with the tendency to take risks may be why up to 35% of entrepreneurs have ADHD.

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Your brain isn’t broken—It Just needs the right tools.

Living with ADHD isn’t about being “too much” or “not enough”—it’s about having a brain that moves through the world in its own unique and valid way. ADHD can make life feel a little messy, overwhelming, and unpredictable at times—but it can also come with incredible creativity, curiosity, and strengths. Therapy is a place to better understand how your brain works, learn practical tools that actually fit your life, and spend less energy trying to "keep up" and more energy thriving as yourself. Together, we can focus on reducing overwhelm, strengthening confidence, and creating more ease in daily life without asking you to become someone you’re not. Whether you’re a child, teen, or adult, you deserve support that sees and celebrates all of who you are. If you're ready to explore new strategies, embrace your strengths, and create meaningful change, I’d love to help. Reach out through the phone number or email provided below for a free consultation if you're interested in getting started.