ADHD Assessment Support
What the four sessions actually involve
A detailed, honest look at the ADHD Assessment Support Programme — what each session covers, what to expect, and exactly what it costs. Online across England.
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ADHD-informed therapists
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1,000+
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Counties across England
Before you read further
Being clear about what this programme is — and what it is not
The people who get the most from this programme are the ones who came in with clear expectations. This is what you can reasonably expect, and what sits outside the scope of what four therapeutic sessions can offer.
What this programme can offer
- A confidential, professional space to explore your experience of ADHD
- An opportunity to develop practical strategies for challenges you are already facing
- Space to process the emotional weight that can come with a late or potential diagnosis
- Support in making sense of your own patterns and how ADHD may be shaping your life
- A grounded, non-judgmental relationship with a therapist who understands ADHD
- Help in preparing for your assessment, if that is approaching
What this programme does not include
- An ADHD assessment or formal diagnosis — this is carried out by specialist clinicians
- A referral letter or clinical report for use in an assessment process
- Advice on medication — this sits with your GP or prescribing psychiatrist
- A guaranteed outcome — what counselling may offer varies between individuals
- Crisis support — if you are in immediate distress, please see the resources below
A note on what counselling can and cannot do. These sessions can offer a professional relationship in which to explore your experience, develop practical approaches, and work through difficult feelings. They cannot promise a particular outcome — what counselling offers, and how useful it proves, varies between individuals and depends on many factors including the right therapeutic match. That is the honest position, and it is the one we will always take.
The Programme in Detail
What each session involves
Each session has a clear focus, but none of them is rigid. Your therapist will work with you to ensure each session serves what you actually need at that point, within the overall structure.
1
Session one
Making sense of your experience
The first session is about you and your story, and there are no right answers or expected presentations. You are not here to perform a version of ADHD. You are here to talk about your own life — the patterns that have been there as long as you can remember, the things you have always found harder than others seemed to, the moments when you have felt most yourself and the ones when you have felt most at odds with the world around you.
Your therapist will listen carefully and without judgement. They will ask questions to help you articulate things that may have been hard to put into words. Many people describe this first session as the first time they have felt genuinely heard in the context of their ADHD experience. That is where the work begins.
This session may explore
- What brings you to this programme at this particular moment
- Your experience of ADHD — or suspected ADHD — across different areas of your life
- The patterns, challenges, and strengths that feel most significant to you
- What you are hoping to take from the programme as a whole
2
Session two
Practical strategies for the challenges you are already carrying
The second session turns to the practical. Living with ADHD in a world not designed for it involves a constant internal negotiation — the workarounds, the compensating strategies, the exhaustion of maintaining scaffolding that neurotypical people do not need. Some of those strategies are working reasonably well. Others may be costing you more than they give.
In this session your therapist will work with you to identify the practical challenges that feel most pressing and to develop approaches that work with how your brain actually functions. These are drawn from evidence-based frameworks including CBT and ACT, adapted to your specific situation. They are tools you can use immediately, regardless of what your eventual assessment concludes.
This session may explore
- Executive function challenges — starting tasks, time management, follow-through
- Emotional regulation and rejection sensitivity
- Practical coping approaches grounded in CBT and ACT
- The strategies you are already using and whether they are serving you well
3
Session three
The emotional landscape
ADHD is not only a practical experience. For many adults — particularly those who have reached this point in life without having had their experience named or understood — it carries a significant emotional weight. Years of being told you were bright but lazy, capable but careless, too much in some moments and not enough in others, tend to leave a mark. That mark is real, and it deserves attention.
The third session creates space for the emotional dimension of your ADHD experience. This may mean exploring the shame and self-criticism that have accumulated over years. It may mean processing grief about what a diagnosis — or the absence of one — changes about the story you have told yourself about who you are. It may mean simply having space to feel the frustration, the relief, the anger, or the complexity of where you are right now.
This session may explore
- Shame, self-criticism, and the long-term impact of being misunderstood
- Rejection sensitive dysphoria and its effects on relationships and self-image
- Processing the emotional experience of a potential or recent late diagnosis
- Grief, relief, and the complexity of what recognition means
4
Session four
Looking forward from where you are now
The final session is a consolidation — a chance to reflect on what has been useful across the programme, to review the strategies that have felt most relevant, and to think about what comes next. This is not a tidy bow on top; it is a practical and honest conversation about where you are now and what would serve you well going forward.
If your assessment is approaching, this session can include specific preparation for that process. If it is still some time away, the focus tends to be on how to use what you have developed in these sessions in your day-to-day life. Your therapist will also discuss the option of continuing into ongoing individual counselling, if that feels relevant — but there is no pressure and no expectation that you will.
This session may explore
- Reviewing what has been most useful and consolidating key strategies
- Preparing for your assessment, if that is approaching
- Identifying what ongoing support — if any — might be helpful
- A clear, honest conversation about where you are and what comes next
Practicalities
What to expect on a practical level
Knowing how the programme works in practice can help you decide whether now is the right time, and what to expect once you have started.
Session length
Each session is 50 minutes, delivered online via a secure video platform. The technology is straightforward and your therapist will send you a link ahead of each session.
Timing and frequency
Sessions are booked at mutually agreed times with your therapist. Weekly sessions tend to work well because the programme builds progressively, but the timing is always agreed around what works for you.
Your therapist
You will be matched with a qualified, professionally registered therapist experienced in working with adults with ADHD. If the match does not feel right after your first session, please tell us — we will find someone who fits better.
Adjustments
If there are things that would make the sessions easier — reminders beforehand, written notes after, flexibility with timing — please say so. These are not extras; they are part of how a session is built around you.
Payment
The full programme fee of £280 covers all four sessions. Payment details are confirmed during your free consultation, and payments are processed securely through our client portal.
After the programme
If you choose to continue into ongoing individual counselling, that option is available at our standard rate — with the same therapist where possible. There is no obligation to continue.
Standards you can trust
How we match you with the right therapist for ADHD support
Choosing a therapist is a personal decision, and we take time to get the match right.
A careful match, not a long list
Therapist availability changes from week to week, so rather than asking you to choose from a directory, we take time during your free 15-minute consultation to understand what you are looking for — and then match you with a therapist suited to your needs.
During the consultation, we will ask about:
- Your experience of ADHD — formally diagnosed, self-recognised, on a waiting list, or somewhere in between
- What you would like the work to focus on (anxiety, self-esteem, late-diagnosis processing, burnout, relationships, work, or something you cannot quite name yet)
- Whether you would prefer face-to-face counselling, online sessions, or a combination of the two
- Any preferences around therapy approach (counselling, CBT, compassion focused, coaching, or a blend)
- Day and time availability that works around your life
- Practical preferences — for example therapist gender, age range, or shared lived experience where that matters to you
All therapists we work with are qualified and registered with appropriate UK professional bodies, and we will confirm the most suitable options with you before any sessions begin.
Professional standards across our team
Hope Therapy & Counselling Services has been operating since 2014, and we hold Organisational Membership with the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). We work in line with the NCPS Code of Ethics and BACP Good Practice, and our wider clinical standards include:
- Qualified, professionally registered therapists across the team — registrations vary per therapist and are confirmed before matching
- Ongoing clinical supervision in line with professional body requirements
- Continuing professional development to maintain and develop practice
- Clear confidentiality standards, with limits explained before sessions begin
- Neurodivergent-affirming and inclusive practice across the team — adjustments are built into how we work, not added as extras
- Founder-led clinical oversight from Ian Stockbridge — MBACP (Senior Accredited) — who continues to lead the practice and oversee its standards
Whether you choose face-to-face counselling near you or online therapy from anywhere in the UK, you can expect to be matched with a therapist who is appropriately qualified and suited to the support you are looking for.
Fees
Clear, straightforward pricing
No hidden costs. Everything is confirmed before you commit to anything.
This Programme
From £280
Four-session programme
- Four 50-minute sessions
- Structured across four focus areas
- Matched to an ADHD-experienced therapist
- Free 15-minute consultation beforehand
- No diagnosis required to access
Ongoing Counselling
From £65
Per 50-minute session
- If you choose to continue afterwards
- The same therapist where possible
- At a pace that suits you
- Online or face-to-face where available
- Discussed in your final session
London clients: Location-adjusted rates may apply. Please ask during your free consultation and we will confirm the exact fee before you commit to anything.
Read more about ongoing ADHD counselling or view the full fee schedule.
What Our Clients Say
In their own words
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I used to leave every conversation replaying what I’d said and feeling like I’d messed it up. Therapy helped me spot the ADHD patterns underneath the shame — the impulsive blurting, the overthinking afterwards, the constant self-correcting. I didn’t get ‘fixed’, but I did get a lot kinder to myself, and that has made day-to-day life feel less heavy.
Adult with ADHD, online sessions
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I was stuck in this cycle of big plans and burnout. My therapist helped me make changes that actually fit how my brain works — shorter steps, more structure, less all-or-nothing thinking. It wasn’t about willpower. It was about working with myself instead of against myself.
Client working on ADHD-related overwhelm, online sessions
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I’d been called ‘bright but careless’ my whole life and it finally clicked why. What I valued most was having someone who didn’t judge the chaos — the missed appointments, the messy notes, the changing priorities. We built practical ways to keep me on track, but the biggest shift was feeling understood.
Professional in their 30s, exploring ADHD traits, online sessions
Client experiences are unique. Results vary between individuals.
Your Questions
Before you decide
If something is not covered here, your free 15-minute consultation is the right place to ask — there is no pressure and no commitment required.
How long does each session last?
Each session is 50 minutes, delivered online via a secure video platform. Your therapist will send you the link ahead of each session. If you would find a reminder the day before helpful, just let your therapist know.
Do the four sessions have to happen in consecutive weeks?
Not necessarily, though weekly sessions tend to work well because the programme is designed to build progressively from one session to the next. The timing is always agreed with your therapist based on what works for your schedule and pace.
What if one of the four session focus areas feels less relevant to me?
The session structure is a framework, not a rigid script. Your therapist will adapt the focus within each session to what is most useful for you. If you need more time on practical strategies and less on the emotional dimension, that is a conversation worth having.
What if I need more than four sessions?
The programme is designed to be self-contained and genuinely useful within four sessions. If ongoing individual counselling would be helpful afterwards, that option is available at our standard rate of £65 per session. Your therapist will discuss this in the final session — there is no obligation to continue.
Is what I share in sessions confidential?
Yes. Everything you share is treated with strict confidence. There are limited circumstances in which this may need to change — primarily where there is a serious risk of harm — and your therapist will explain these clearly before your first session begins, so you know where the boundaries are in advance. Our practice operates in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework 2018 and UK GDPR.
What qualifications do your therapists hold?
All therapists delivering this programme are qualified counsellors or psychotherapists registered with a recognised UK professional body — including the BACP, NCPS, or BABCP. They have experience working therapeutically with adults with ADHD and work within a neurodivergent-affirming framework, under regular clinical supervision in line with their professional body’s requirements.
When you feel ready, we’re here
A free, no-obligation 15-minute conversation. No pressure, no script — just a chance to ask questions and see whether this programme is the right fit for you right now.
Get in Touch
Start your enquiry
If a phone call feels like too much, sending a written message is completely fine. A member of our team will get back to you, usually the same working day. All enquiries are treated in the strictest confidence.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“From the very first phone call, I felt heard. They didn’t rush me — they helped me work out what I needed.”
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NCPS Organisational Member
Est 2014
90+ Qualified Therapists
National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies
Individual registrations vary per therapist. Last reviewed: May 2026.