Online Therapy Texas

Help is available at your time and place.

Providing the same treatment as in person therapy sessions. Telehealth Video Therapy Sessions are HIPAA compliant, the simple & secure teletherapy solution.

It’s Convenient.

Communicate as often as you want and whenever you feel it’s needed. Start your video sessions today, no download required and all services are conducted via a HIPAA compliant platform.

Often clients report barriers, concerns, or hesitations when considering using tele-health as a therapy office.

Why tele-health?

Shifting the therapy office to a clients space makes therapy portable, accessible, confidential, and comfortable. In turn, clients often report feeling more at ease, less stressed, and more apt to open up and, in turn, therapy is more effective. The benefits far outweigh any concerns for most clients, as accessibility to care drastically increases and cancellations drastically decrease. Therapy is delivered in the comfort of your home – when and where you need it.

When tele-health is not appropriate

Despite the benefits of utilizing tele-health, there are certain situations when tele-health may not be appropriate, these include:

• Complex mental health diagnoses; i.e., visual and/or auditory hallucinations, active substance use, recent suicidal or homicidal thoughts
• Those 17 years of age or younger
• Those with poor Internet connection

SCHEDULE A VIDEO APPOINTMENT

We are not just center for children……we evaluate and treat adults too.

The psychological and medical community used to believe that the majority of children who had ADD/ADHD would outgrow it by the time they reached young adulthood. Decades of research have now revealed that this belief was wrong and that in fact, the majority of children with ADD/ADHD continue to have symptoms into their adult years.

What are the symptoms of Adult AD/HD?

Symptoms of AD/HD look different in adults when compared to children, perhaps the reason for the mistaken belief that everyone outgrows the disorder. While children have more noticeable symptoms that are easy to observe, such as running and jumping around, intruding on their peers’ games, and tantrumming at homework time, adults with AD/ADH are not so obvious in their symptoms.

Symptoms likely to be seen in adults include:

Easily bored
Trouble staying focused at work
Frequently misplacing items such as keys, cell phone, wallet
Trouble sitting in seat, frequently having to get up and walk
Messy desk, car, home
Difficulty in relationships
Procrastinating
Jumping from task to task to task
Loud, fast talking
Poor time management
Excessive Talking and Interrupting
Rarely finishing projects even though you were excited to start
Mind wanders excessively
Dislike for detailed work
Unstable Moods
Short Temper
Irritability
Excessive seeking of excitement
Poor planning skills
Tendency to act Now and think Later
Forgetful
Difficulty controlling emotions
In more severe cases of ADHD adults may struggle with:

Difficulty maintaining a job
Substance abuse
Traffic violations
Repeated failed intimate relationships
Arrests
Car accidents
Trouble keeping friends
Financial troubles
Jail or prison

Research has consistently shown that approximately 80% of inmates in prison have a diagnosis of ADHD. This does not mean that 80% of people with ADHD will go to prison, but it indicates that untreated ADHD can have very serious consequences.

How do you know if you have ADD/ADHD?

Many adults already know that they have ADD/ADHD from a diagnosis made in childhood. In these cases the question is not “do I have ADD/ADHD?” but rather, “what symptoms of ADD/ADHD do I still have and how do they impact my life?”

Adults never diagnosed before who suspect they might have ADD/ADHD should seek an evaluation from an experienced psychologist. Because ADD/ADHD starts in early childhood it is important that your doctor have information about your childhood and adolescent history. Call your high school and obtain your cumulative record. Ask your parents if they have your report cards. Obtain records from any mental health professionals you have seen at any point in your life. Gather all the records together and send them ahead of time to your doctor so he/she has ample time to review them. Interview your parents about how you behaved as a child and teen, asking what it was like to get your homework done, get up in the morning, cooperate with chores, follow rules, get along with others, etc. Take notes and bring them with you to your evaluation.

What if I can’t obtain any of my records?

Do the best you can. At a minimum your high school will have your grades and academic achievement test scores.

Will I have to be tested?

Testing is not always necessary. If you can provide your doctor with a good history and an accurate description of your symptoms and how they impact your life, testing probably is not necessary. However, there are many situations that may make testing a requirement for a diagnosis:

No records are available
No prior diagnosis of ADD/ADHD has ever been made
Self-reporting of symptoms can be misleading and/or inaccurate
Presentation of symptoms is unclear
Learning Disabilities need to be ruled out
Psychological Disorders need to be ruled out
Can I have treatment without Testing?

Many times the actual “label” of ADD/ADHD is not really necessary for treatment to be successful. If all other disorders can be ruled out, simply working therapeutically on each of the symptoms you have, regardless of what you label it can be very successful. The actual label may only be necessary for very important decisions such as whether or not to use medication.

What Should I know about Testing?

While testing can be helpful in determining the presence of ADD/ADHD it is important to know that there is no specific test or battery of tests that can conclusively determine whether or not you have ADD/ADHD. The test results are useful information as part of the entire evaluation. Your doctor can help you decide if testing is worth the time and expense. If you do decide to undergo testing you can expect to have several tests and spend several hours completing them. Typically a test battery for ADD/ADHD will include an IQ Test, Academic Achievement Testing, tests of concentration, distractibility, memory, organization and planning.

You should also discuss with your doctor the benefits of undergoing personality testing. This type of testing provides you and your doctor with information about your personality functioning. It also helps as part of the evaluation process in examining a wide variety of psychological disorders that may exist. Personality testing is very helpful not only in obtaining a complete diagnostic picture, but also in providing a deep understanding of psychological functioning. Several hours of testing provides your doctor with in-depth information about you that would otherwise takes months of treatment to be uncovered.

At Ashley Psychology Center we do not jump right into testing. We first complete an evaluation as described above. Whether or not to test will be discussed with you, helping you to make an informed choice of the time and cost involved.

What types of treatment are available for adults with ADD/ADHD?

Our approach at Ashley Psychology Center is to help adults identify their symptoms and clearly define what impact they have on daily functioning.

We look at adults’ successes and struggles in social, occupational, recreational, and family functioning. Our treatment goals are focused on providing tools to improve the ability to manage daily life in a more predictable, calm and successful manner. If appropriate and desired, we also work with the family and/or significant others to educate and increase their understanding of the difficulties that ADD/ADHD causes and guide both the adult and family members towards helpful methods to improve functioning for the adult and the family relationship.

What about medication?

There are pros and cons of using medication. Our approach is to educate adults about the pros and cons of medication and help them gain a realistic understanding of what medication can and cannot do. Treatment with medication is a highly individual decision and we respect each adult’s right to decide whether or not they will use medication. If medication is appropriate we can offer referrals to medical doctors who are able to presecribe and educate regarding the benefits and potential side effects. Whether or not medication is used, we advocate that adults participate in psychological treatment to help improve their overall daily life and learn ways to reach their goals.

Adults interested in an initial evaluation or psychotherapy in our office are welcome to email us appointments@therapyconnected.sesh.nyc or call our office at 818 886 3531