top of page

ADHD in Adulthood

Clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist Dr. Jason Olin offers psychotherapy and clinical diagnosis services to adults with ADHD symptoms.​

TLDR (Summary)

  • Dr. Jason Olin is a USC-trained clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist with expertise in ADHD.

  • He provides psychotherapy and support to adults with ADHD.

  • He also offers a 90 minute discussion that will determine whether you have ADHD, and give you both specific tools and recommendations.

    • This visit can be virtual (for residents of California and Idaho)

    • The goal is to provide you clarity and validate your concerns.

    • The visit includes your time together, recommendations, answers to your questions, and a copy of the diagnostic worksheets.

    • A detailed written report can also be created.

    • This evaluation is eligible for reimbursement under your FSA or HSA and the bill can also be submitted to your medical insurance for out-of-network reimbursement.

  • If you simply want stimulants, you've come to the wrong place.

If you're interest in a diagnostic evaluation, read on.

Why should I bother to get checked for ADHD?

  • You are concerned about getting too easily distracted

  • You are underperforming at school, at work, or at home

  • Your partner thinks you have ADHD, and they're not kidding

  • You procrastinate too much

  • You get sidetracked too much

  • You keep forgetting appointments

  • You forget to respond to your friend's texts

  • You finish people's sentences 

  • You are way too impatient

  • People who know you complain about these problems

How is this different than doing a free online evaluation?

  • The biggest difference is that you are missing an expert opinion. No online tool can provide you that.

  • Many online tools use a bait-and-switch scheme. You answer many questions, but have to then pay for additional services.

  • Most of the people that Dr. Olin sees find these online resources suggestive, but seldom convincing. They sometimes delay getting help.

How do you diagnose ADHD?

  • First, Dr. Olin identifies if you had symptoms of ADHD in childhood and have symptoms of ADHD now.​​

  • Second, he identifies if those symptoms were affecting your function in childhood and are affecting your function now.

  • He will look at education, work, social life, free time, relationships, and home life​.​​

  • Third, he rule outs other factors that could explain your symptoms.

If it's not ADHD, what is it?

  • Some inattention, but not clinically significant

  • Worry, anxiety, depression

  • Your personality, perfectionism

  • Specific learning problems

  • Normal aging

  • A significant life event (pregnancy, bereavement, moving)

I thought ADHD is only diagnosed with cognitive and neuropsychological tests.

  • Cognitive testing is time consuming and expensive.

  • If you are going to pay for it, there should be a good reason.

  • A good reason would be that you need accommodations for the SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, Bar exam, or university​.​

  • Dr. Olin offers neuropsychological testing, only when requested and when needed.

Wouldn't it be easier to go to an MD? You don't prescribe stimulants.

  • Not everyone with ADHD wants to take stimulant medication.

  • Medication does not directly improve the tendency to procrastinate or to become disorganized.

  • If Dr. Olin recommends that you consider stimulant medication, he will explain why that might make sense for you.

  • Note that a physician or nurse practitioner can prescribe stimulant medications (Vyvance, Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, etc.)

What are some recommendations that you might make?

  • Take more time than you usually do to take breaks and do the activities that you love to do. Many people Dr. Olin sees tend to start doing tedious and unrewarding work when they are feeling tired and lousy.

  • Reduce the number of ADHD tools you use to a minimum. It's hard for anyone to juggle more than one calendar or more than one to-do list.

  • Build a short list of the three biggest distractors in your life and take steps to reduce their effect on you.

Are you going to try and upsell me something when I see you?

  • No. Dr. Olin designed these evaluations to be brief, to confirm whether you have ADHD and provide support and some recommendations. You can learn about his practice by visiting other pages on this website.

  • His practice is not dependent on selling you additional services. He decided to offer these brief diagnostic visits because he enjoys doing them and most of the people that he sees find them helpful. 

  • Sometimes, he may recommend therapy or further assessment. Those recommendations always include his sharing the names of other colleagues and services that are not affiliated with his practice. It's up to you to decide whether and when to make use of those recommendations.

What do those computerized tests show?

  • Those tests measure your attention. The CPT-III is often used for this purpose.

  • This can include sustained attention, distractibility, divided attention.

  • A diagnosis of ADHD is not simply due to impairment in the type of attention evaluated in computerized tests.

You said you also offer psychotherapy?

How else do you help adults with ADHD?

  • Part of my practice includes psychotherapy for adults with ADHD.

  • Psychotherapy can be helpful because it provides an immediate way to help you build skills, learn more about your challenges, and get support.

  • Note that many adults with ADHD also experience anxiety, depression and self-doubt. Psychotherapy using approaches like CBT has been shown to help reduce those symptoms, making it easier to thrive with adult ADHD.

  • Some adults with ADHD are looking solely for coaching. This involves skill building and learning new tools. Coaching is best for people who are relatively free from stress, anxiety, and worry.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a mental health condition that develops in childhood. It can include functional challenges with attention and/or functional challenges with hyperactivity (excess energy and impulsivity). The symptoms of ADHD are considered problematic when they directly affect education/employment, social life, relationships, and recreational activities.

All of us have symptoms of ADHD. It's only considered ADHD when those symptoms occur often and disrupt your function.

My ADHD Story

I love ADHD.

Nope, I don't have ADHD. My wife and kids don't have ADHD, either. I'm not approaching this with lived experience.

​

Every week, I conduct over a dozen ADHD evaluations for a large healthcare system. I enjoy these visits a lot.

​

I see anyone who is at least 18 and is concerned that they have ADHD. They may be referred by their primary care doc, their therapist, or themselves. 

​

Some of the people I see were diagnosed in childhood and want to know if their problems now are due to ADHD. Many others struggled in school and are trying to understand why they are having challenges now. Sometimes, the person picked a highly stimulating career, is forced into an administrative role, and this is where symptoms first appear.

​

More than half the time, the person I see has a diagnosis of ADHD. Others are having challenges with focus, but the challenges are due to something else. That something else might be some real-world stresses, or due to anxiety or depression or sometimes PTSD.

​

Positive feedback from the many people I have evaluated convinced me to offer this service in my practice, too.

bottom of page