Unfortunately, I do not provide an emergency help service. For those in Canterbury there is the Crisis Resolution service through the Canterbury District Health Board. There is also the government sponsored Need to Talk service accessed by free call or text 1737 or 0800 1737 1737. If you are struggling, please feel free to also reach out to other supports such as: If you need urgent mental health support, please call the Urgent Adult Mental Health Service on 0800 920 092. There is also the government sponsored Need to Talk service accessed by free call or text 1737 or 0800 1737 1737 Additionally, your GP can often refer you to a brief counselling service which might help with feeling heard and supported in the interim.

Please give as much notice as possible if you need to cancel an appointment. Appointments that are unattended or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged at 50% of the normal rate. You can select to receive a reminder text 24 hours prior to your appointment when you book. If you have not done this and would like to receive a reminder, please let me know and I will endeavor to send a text or email reminder the day before your appointment.

In agreeing to accept this service I also understand and agree to the following conditions: Assessment invoices are payable on or before the due date. They may be partially paid at any time prior, however they must be paid in full on the due date in order for an assessment to go ahead. If an assessment invoice has not been paid, the Clinical Interview booking may be cancelled and offered to another client. Rescheduling requests are based on availability and cannot be guaranteed. If an assessment has been undertaken and the invoice remains unpaid, the report will not be released to you and/or other health professionals until the invoice is cleared. Unless outstanding invoices are paid, I am unable to book further appointments (and will cancel these where booked). The remaining balance will still require payment for services already provided Unpaid fees will be passed on to a debt collection agency. If the overdue balance is referred to a debt collection agency you will be liable for any debt collection costs incurred. You understand that under these conditions, the confidentiality of your name and contact details will need to be waived in order for the debt collection agency to seek payment from you.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined in the DSM-5. Although it was first observed in children, the symptoms can persist into adulthood at a diagnostic level for many people. Some people may have always had the disorder, but it may not have been recognised or diagnosed in childhood. There have also been changes over time in the awareness of how ADHD can look different in women or in those with a predominantly "Innattentive" presentation type as adults. These factors can result in people seeking an assessment of ADHD symptoms as adults, or finding that they continue to struggle as adults. For more information about how ADHD can look in adults, there is now a great deal of infromation available online. Some good sources include: Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand (on ADHDin adults) ADDitude Mag (an American website and magazine resource about ADHD) ADHD New Zealand

Therapy appointments can be paid on booking using online payment via PayPal. Invoices for multiple appointments, or larger amounts (such as assessments), can be partially paid at any point prior to the due date, provided the invoice is paid in full by the due date. This is especially important regarding assessments, which require a significant time and resource investment prior to the Clinical Interview appointment. Note: I do not offer buy-now-pay-later arrangements such as "Afterpay" and equivalent services. Ethically, these can be perceived as schemes that could be inducing individuals to enter into arrangements that may place them into indebtitude and can result in additional fees and penalties. For this reason, I choose not to offer this option in the context of my client group.

No, I do not require a referral from another health professional. I accept self-referrals, however your GP will need to become involved if you would like to pursue medication options or micronutrient supplements.

Evidence of the presence of symptoms occurring in childhood (prior to age 12) is a requirement of the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5. Without this information, it can be difficult (and sometimes impossible) to make a clear decision about a diagnosis in adulthood. The more information available from the greatest variety of sources, the more accurate I am able to be in my assessment. As part of your assessment, you will also be asked what you remember about your symptoms in childhood. However, it is still helpful to get additional information about this time in your life as children can also be less aware of their symptoms, or the things that parents and teachers may be doing to help manage the symptoms (without necessarily realizing). Parents are often the most aware of the difficulties their child may have had growing up. There are many circumstances under which they may not be able to participant in your assessment however. If this is the case for you, it is helpful if there are other adults who knew you well as a child, or if you are able to access other records from this time. Examples of other records can include: - School reports (especially those from primary and intermediate) - Prior assessments such as educational assessments, mental health or behavioural assessments - Records held by District Health Boards (now Te Whatu Ora): These can include medical, comprehensive, or paediatric notes that may have information about childhood difficulties, especially where you may have had service involvement. Canterbury DHB has information about requesting your file here: https://www.cdhb.health.nz/about-us/contact-us/ and other DHB's will have similar processed because you are legally entitled to access health information held about you. So, if you think that an assessment could be difficult due to limited childhood information, try looking at some of the other sources mentioned above - all of which you can request or look for before your assessment begins. It is also important to talk to the person undertaking your assessment early if you think this could be a problem.

For assessments for individuals under 18 years, the quickest assessment pathway to the most effective treatment for ADHD is to see a private Paediatrician. Public pathways include GP referral to the Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Service, but their services are likely to be limited to more severe presentations. There are several private clinicians that I recommend: · Child and adolescent psychiatrist Matt Eggleston in Christchurch. On his website, Matt says he will provide medication consultation to children and adolescents diagnosed by a psychologist or with a pre-existing diagnosis. · Dr Garth Smith who is based in Nelson: https://www.kidsdoc.co.nz/garth-smith · Dr Pam Jackson, who is based in Dunedin: https://drpamjackson.co.nz/ Please check their webpages and information, in some cases you may need to travel to be seen in person for the initial assessment, but follow up appointments can be via zoom for some professionals - please check their individual details above. You may find others locally who have more current availability. There are some listed also on www.adhd.org.nz on their professionals list. The reason for this is that there is no pathway into the public system for Psychiatry review for individuals under 18 years, so if I were to complete an assessment, I would not be able to refer to the usual pathways for recommended treatment options.

Your best plan re: preparing for the cost of an assessment is to start putting aside money in a separate "savings" account immediately, so that whomever has capacity to see you first for an assessment, you have funds (or capacity) to pay whenever they can see you. This means also that you aren't tied to a specific professional, and are able to go with someone different if they are able to see you sooner. Because "saving" and "setting aside money" can be notoriously difficult, I suggest these steps: Set up a dedicated separate account for this in online banking that is NOT linked to an eft-pos card. LABEL the account with what it is for e.g. "ASSESSMENT FUND" and if possible, in the label, also include your GOAL AMOUNT (so, whatever actual amount the assessment will cost - go HIGHER if you want to be on the safe side as fees do differ). $2000 should be a "safe" amount to aim for. (e.g. $2000 Assessment Fund) Set up AUTOMATIC transfers to occur regularly to this account - ideally straight after you are paid, and accounting for other non-negotiable bills that you need to pay. Depending on this, it may be weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. Set up your automatic payments ideally for an amount that you can afford, and that also might get you within the goal by around 6 months. (e.g. $334 monthly, or $154 fortnightly, or $77 weekly). Any amount you can put aside is likely to be a relief when an invoice comes through! IF YOU STRUGGLE WITH LEAVING MONEY IN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS - Get support with this, make this account less visible to you if possible, and aim to not check or look at it until you have an assessment invoice to pay. You might have to get sneaky with yourself on how to prevent yourself accessing and spending this money. It may help to pretend or label it as if it's not yours, so you stop seeing it as "spendable money". Once your savings plan is already in place, then you can start exploring funding options that may be available or which you could apply for, or be reimbursed by. Sometimes health insurances can assist.

You can find my current fees HERE. There are now two stages of payment: 1) You will be asked to pay in order to book the screening phone call. This fee is non-refundable, but will be deducted from the full cost of the assessment, should you choose to go ahead with an assessment following the screening phase. This fee covers the clinical time and costs associated with the screening phase of the assessment. 2) If you choose to go ahead with a full assessment, you will be sent an invoice for the full assessment cost. Deductions will be applied where you have already paid for the screening portion of your assessment. This must be paid in full by the invoice due date. This is important as my work starts BEFORE we meet and there is information I need to have in order to know whether to go ahead with the assessment appointment. Failure to complete payment may result in a cancellation of the Clinical Interview booking. Rescheduling is not able to be guaranteed due to demand.

In Christchurch, there is a Public pathway for ADHD medication reviews and prescribing with Psychiatrists via the Adult Mental Health Service. This isn't the case in many other regions due to systems set up specifically within what was previously the Canterbury DHB, now Te Whatu Ora, Waitaha Canterbury. So, this means that in Canterbury, my reports can be used as part of a referral into this pathway via a GP, without additional costs of private Psychiatrists. This is why I limit my assessments to this area, as I know clients can then use my reports to access medication treatment options, whereas elsewhere, it may be more cost-effective to see a Private Psychiatrist directly. I have some more information about this process here: https://www.adhdunlimited.co.nz/items/adhd-assessments

My current fee can be found HERE. See "Payment Options" FAQ for more details.

You may be eligible for funding to assist with the costs of counselling/therapy directly related to a diagnosed disability. You can find out more about whether you may be eligible, and what you may be entitled to here: https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/health-and-disability/counselling.html You will need your GP and your chosen therapist/counsellor (as detailed on the website above) to complete the following forms to submit to WINZ: https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/forms/disability-allowance-application-for-existing-clients.pdf https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/forms/disability-allowance-couselling.pdf  If you wish to use this funding option, please let me know and/or email the form to me prior to your appointment so I can discuss this with you and complete it. You are able to pay online at the time of booking for funded appointments, as WINZ payments will come to you directly.