Hi all,

I apologize if anyone else has already asked this, though I searched on Rorschach and got no hits here.

Anyway, this is all VERY new to me. Around 3 weeks ago I started reading about ADHD and had a scary and emotional sense of recognition. Took online assessments, all I could find, discovered, Yep this is probably me. Spent many days making phone calls to find someone to help assess me. Found someone and went yesterday.

She did a clinical history (1 hour), no ADHD questionairres (and of course I forgot to bring my papers with me), is not invu-ing my spouse, but thinks I am a candidate for psych testing (which my physician had also recommended). She plans to do a full IQ test, a Rorschach test, and a computerized test that I didn't catch the name of. Currently, she thinks I have depression/anxiety but not ADHD (despite all of my childhood symptoms). I got a good feeling from her in the sense that she seems smart and competent, but it was clear to me that she's pretty sure I don't have ADHD. Obviously she has more experience w/ this than I do, but I also know that I only got to half my history in the hour and didn't get a chance to tell her why the descriptions of adults w/ ADHD resonated so much w/ me.

?s: Do you think these are good tests for her to do? Do you think the fact that she didn't do or ask for ADHD questionairres means anything one way or the other? Do you think she needs to talk to my spouse? Have any of you had Rorschach as part of your assessment? Also, for those 3 tests--taking and scoring--she estimate 8 to 12 hours. Does that sound right? (I'll be paying for much of this at $200 an hour, so want to make sure these are worthy tests.)

All thoughts very very welcome!

(And boy am I glad this forum exists...)

amys

amys,

My evaluation included questionairs for ADHD, depression and anxiety plus IQ and TOVA tests. TOVA is specifically designed to measure degree of ADHD.

I felt the evaluation nailed what ails me right on the head.

Bob

Did she ask you anything about why you thought you had ADHD?

It doesn't seem like she will be able to make a proper diagnosis without hearing your whole story.

For my diagnosis I met with a psychiatrist twice for 1.5 hours and also spent a day at a psychologist who tested me + the psychiatrist talked to my parents and boyfriend + I and my parents got questionaires to fill in. There were still misunderstandings.

Did she ask you anything about why you thought you had ADHD?

It doesn't seem like she will be able to make a proper diagnosis without hearing your whole story.

For my diagnosis I met with a psychiatrist twice for 1.5 hours and also spent a day at a psychologist who tested me + the psychiatrist talked to my parents and boyfriend + I and my parents got questionaires to fill in. There were still misunderstandings.No, she didn't ask why I thought I had ADHD, which I guess is what concerns me. Otherwise, like I said, she seems really competent and smart, and she said "I've been doing this a long time," though of course I felt too shy/embarrassed to ask how long.

Hmmm. I think I have more phone calls to make. I've been surprised how hard it is to find people who assess and who have slots available less than 3 months out. Sigh.

Thanks for the input!

/a

I'm relatively new to this myself, despite having been to see a number of different psychologists and pdocs over the past 7 years. I just happened to be meeting with one for marriage counseling who has ADD herself and she was able to make the diagnosis in relatively short order because of her familiarity with it. For me, I think I had some other things that masked the symptoms for a while like depression, PTSD and some addictions that I needed to get out of the way first so a solid diagnosis of ADD could be made. Beyond that, I'm not sure how well versed all of the other docs were in ADD so it helps to find someone who specializes in it.

My therapist had my wife and I do a test together, which I think was around 50 questions based around the symptoms of ADD. Each of us gave her our answers without being able to see what the other was giving and it was eerie how well they tracked each other, though my wife thought my symptoms were much worse than I did. :rolleyes: I saw on another thread that you posted that you had a lot of comments on your early report cards in school that could support the diagnosis. I would suggest that you bring those also to whoever you decide to see next.

SD

I guess my testing was pretty extensive..

I had about six hours (3 hours one day, 3 the next). They did an interview, lots of questionaires to fill out, family and friends questionaires, IQ testing which included these red and white blocks, puzzles, word and phrase interpretation, repeating number/letter sequences, and some computer test where I was to click on these flashing letters (I did that one twice). I expected, but didn't get, the Rorshach tests...

Here is what my testing involved. It took better than half a day.

WAISIII (verbal IQ test)
WMSIII (memory test)
WRAT3 (performance IQ test)
Lateral Dominance examination (Handedness I'm ambidextrious!)
Grooved Pegboard Test (fine motor skill stest)
Grip Strength Test (co**** motor skill test)
Rev Complex Figure Test (a visual memory test)
JOLO (a line orientation test... more visual testing!)
CVLT II (verbal skills test)
Category fluency test
Controllee dOral Word association test
Trailmaking test
Stroop Color and Word test
Paced auditory serial addition test ( a test of focusing ability)
ADHD symptoms self report
Beck Anxiety inventory


ME :D

Amys,

Just sharing my thoughts. I am not a professional in the Mental Health field. Just a 40-yr-old woman who has had a lot of experience as a consumer of Mental Health services both for myself, and more EXTENSIVELY while helping family members who have more serious mental illness. With all my experience, I have grown more skeptical. Especially with providers who make alot of emphatic statements and have the attitude that their OPINIONS about things are more than opinions - but ultimate TRUTHs.

Anyway (getting tangential there) - I have heard that the Rorschach has become a tool that is no longer considered to have much value. (Just something I read recently. I'm sure it could be useful to get a conversation started . . . it's the "inkblot test" where you're asked what a ink smudge looks like to you.)

I'm not sure what it is that YOU'D like out of seeing this psychiatrist (or psychologist). I don't remember if you told us what symptoms have been troubling you. If you do have symptoms that really are bothering you and you want them to stop (and you don't care what they are, as long as you can get some advice as to how to deal with them) - then this person sounds like she could be very helpful.

If it's that you have been reading about ADHD lately, and the MORE you read about it - the MORE you feel this "lightbulb" go on in your head that is telling you that THIS answers so many questions I have about myself. And you feel that you don't need/want help for depression or debilitating "panic attacks" or anything else - that just this ADHD stuff you've been learning about is PRECISELY what you've been dealing with - then I might NOT invest that huge amount of money on this provider's services and look for a psychologist that deals exclusively with ADHD in adults. (They do exist. And they often are the only ones in an area that have a clue about ADHD.)

What does stand out to me, however, is that your physician AND this person you just saw BOTH agreed that a psych evaluation would be appropriate for you. That makes me think (and, again - I'm not trained in Mental Health, just read things as a hobby) that perhaps you've expressed a variety of symptoms that would make them feel that it is of the utmost importance that they evaluate you extensively to rule out a variety of possibilities. And this, certainly, is a GOOD THING (I would think) - that sure wouldn't HURT (except for your pocketbook). So - if you can afford it, it can be a good evaluation to have under your belt.

I have had one, and I actually found it quite fascinating. The circumstances which led to my having a psych eval were not pleasant. (My ex-husband was trying to convince the DSS that I was crazy and an unfit mother. Our being ordered to have psych evals proved just the opposite, AND proved that HE was "crazy" and dangerous. OY! Let's just forget that nightmare!) But anyway - I was very PLEASED to discover that I was kinda just an ordinary neurotic woman with a tendency to get depressed and people-please.

Feel free to private message me if you have any questions.

Good luck to you,
Sue

Hi all,

I apologize if anyone else has already asked this, though I searched on Rorschach and got no hits here.

Anyway, this is all VERY new to me. Around 3 weeks ago I started reading about ADHD and had a scary and emotional sense of recognition. Took online assessments, all I could find, discovered, Yep this is probably me. Spent many days making phone calls to find someone to help assess me. Found someone and went yesterday.

She did a clinical history (1 hour), no ADHD questionairres (and of course I forgot to bring my papers with me), is not invu-ing my spouse, but thinks I am a candidate for psych testing (which my physician had also recommended). She plans to do a full IQ test, a Rorschach test, and a computerized test that I didn't catch the name of. Currently, she thinks I have depression/anxiety but not ADHD (despite all of my childhood symptoms). I got a good feeling from her in the sense that she seems smart and competent, but it was clear to me that she's pretty sure I don't have ADHD. Obviously she has more experience w/ this than I do, but I also know that I only got to half my history in the hour and didn't get a chance to tell her why the descriptions of adults w/ ADHD resonated so much w/ me.

?s: Do you think these are good tests for her to do? Do you think the fact that she didn't do or ask for ADHD questionairres means anything one way or the other? Do you think she needs to talk to my spouse? Have any of you had Rorschach as part of your assessment? Also, for those 3 tests--taking and scoring--she estimate 8 to 12 hours. Does that sound right? (I'll be paying for much of this at $200 an hour, so want to make sure these are worthy tests.)

All thoughts very very welcome!

(And boy am I glad this forum exists...)

amysHi Amy,

I am in the mental health field, trained as a psychotherapist. I can tell you that any test (psychometric or otherwise) is only as good as the individual(s) who interpret it. Tests are meant to be unbiased, but the fact that an individual has to apply an interpretation removes the possibility of perfect objectivity. Therapists generally choose tests based on preference, including their propensity towards a certain theoretical orientation. Your therapist may have chosen the Rorschach because they have a preference for projective testing, and hence, psychoanalysis/psychodynamic theory; the use of ambiguity to bring forth what is held (theoretically) in the unconscious. Could it be relevant to an ADHD diagnosis? Yes, it can. Even if what came from that test wasn't directly relevant information for an ADHD diagnosis, the patterns that were uncovered (in cognition, in reasoning, etc.) may have been shown to correlate with a diagnosis of ADHD. What i'm saying is that even if a particular test doesn't seem to relate to the main topic, it still may produce results that help a therapist/counselor to work with you (and that is key) to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Bottom line, you're paying for this testing and you have every right to question the purpose of any test. If it doesn't make sense, certainly sit down with your therapist and make your concerns known. "Smart and competent" are great traits for a therapist, however it may be even more important for a therapist to be open to serious discussion. If she is simply formulating a diagnosis with the test results, shes missing half the picture. A diagnosis should be as specific and individual as the client, not cookie cutter, based on test results alone.

Sue,

Thanks for your insights and questions. It's hard for me to be brief here, but I'll try. : )

In short, I've been having a REALLY hard time in a creative writing program I just started. (I've struggled w/ writing for years, starting story after story but finishing only a few. I thought that getting into an MFA program would give me "legitimacy" and thus I would finally finish things. Ha!)

I don't even know what prompted me to type in "adult ADD" in my search engine, but I did, and what I read made a lightbulb go off in my head. I picked up Hallowell's Driven to Distraction, read his description of adults w/ ADD and nearly cried. I then read what ADD looks like in kids, esp. girls, and recognized myself so clearly that, really, I almost couldn't handle it.

I saw my physician, told her about this experience, and she suggested neuropsychological testing as the best way to get a definitive diagnosis, particularly before trying meds.

I take Wellbutrin for depression, but frankly, reading about ADHD has made me think my depression is secondary. I wonder, even, if it *is* depression. I'm having a hard time articulating this, though of course I know what I mean inside. !!

It's more that I feel constantly frustrated. My moods can change from second to second (and I know I'm not bipolar; no extreme highs/lows). I can be instantly irritable --particularly w/ my husband!-- and then two seconds later I'm fine. I have always thought I'm just crazy, and that this is what depression looks like in me. But from what I've read of ADHD adults, these symptoms fit perfectly.

I also procrastinate, have a hard time getting started on projects and finishing projects, interrupt people all the time, have to really force myself to focus on conversations, forget what I'm trying to say in the middle of sentence: you know, the typical stuff. I've moved a ton of times (to different apts/cities), I change jobs a lot, hate having a boss, have quit jobs on impulse, and I'm a total underachiever.

My motto the past couple of years is, Some who wander are indeed lost. Because that's how I've felt: lost, frustrated, like I just can't achieve anything and like I'm never going to change.

I know that depression, particularly when coupled w/ anxiety, can look like ADHD and I also know that I'm no expert. But when I couple my current symptoms w/ childhood stuff (report cards saying I talked too much and didn't make good use of time; being sent home from a friend's house for being "bossy"; being smart and making good grades but hardly ever doing work) just makes me feel like this is me.

I don't even know what a diagnosis would do for me, except allow me to try meds and also, I guess, give me a new way to look at my life and my issues and new ways to tackle them. Which I guess begs the question: do I need a diagnosis or can I just start implementing strategies that help ADDers?

I'm definitely leaning toward the psych testing; it's just the money is a bit much for me right now. Decisions, decisions. Ugh.

/amys

If what you are doing is working for you, keep doing it.

ADHD is just a label. However, it is also a diagnosis. I am an engineer by trade. I deal with things that are known , and concrete. When things are fuzzy, and poorly defined, I tend to work toward getting understanding until those fuzzy things are clearly understood. It is the way I operate.

When it comes to ADHD, from my persepctive, these things have a naame, and they have well known characteristics that define them. Without a diagnosis, me and my doctors were "guessing" at what was really going on, and it becane a source of contentiion between me and my doctors. I decided to end the guessing and get some measured data about myself... this required a neuropsych evaluation.


For me , getting am evidence based diagnosis removed doubt and gave my enemy a name. The things that I learned about myself have helped me to understand myself and to better adapt to being me.

This road might not be the correct path for some people to take, but for me it was the only way to go.


ME :D

If what you are doing is working for you, keep doing it.That's the crux for me: my life is not working as is, and really hasn't for a long time. I keep trying things and failing. I often end up trying the *same* thing (like taking a FT job or signing up for writing classes), thinking if I could just find my niche I'd be okay. For 20 years I've done this, with no niche in sight.

I've constructed my life over the past couple of years so that it's not as, well, painful I guess. I work from home; most of my friends live far away so I only talk to or email them; I don't have to deal w/ bosses much. I do a lot of hiding from the world, mainly because that's easier for me than having to go into the world and fail. Which is what I end up doing, in one way or another. My savior over the past decade has been my dogs. Really.

While reading about ADHD the symptoms fit me so well that, first of all, I felt recognition like I've never felt in my life. I'm not sure if anyone else has had that, but for me it was really, really weird. I have never fit anywhere or anything and there I was in writing, in a book.

I doubt a diagnosis of ADHD will save me, but maybe it will allow me find people who can help me. The therapists I've seen in the past have all walked me through my relationships w/ parents, my family or origin, and blah blah blah. It was boring even the first time around. Interestingly, my favorite therapist, who was treating me when I was having trouble w/ my first grad program (procrastinating, falling alseep every time I opened a book, feeling like a lazy s&*t) didn't mention ADHD ever. But that was 10 years ago.

OK, I'm making myself feel lousy thinking about this, so time to sign off and eat some chocolate.

Thanks, everyone, for all of the input.

/amys

Hi Buffalopc7 -

It's a treat to have a real live therapist here! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. (And thank you for not picking on MY post. After spending so much time visiting Mental Health providers and reading about the subject - sometimes I believe I know alot about the subject - but, perhaps only enough to make me dangerous. :o )

Sue

Hi Buffalopc7 -

It's a treat to have a real live therapist here! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. (And thank you for not picking on MY post. After spending so much time visiting Mental Health providers and reading about the subject - sometimes I believe I know alot about the subject - but, perhaps only enough to make me dangerous. :o )

Sue
Hi Sue!
Sorry I hadn't responded sooner, I tried to a couple of times, but the site was down for some reason. Anyway, I found your advice to be excellent and I agree. I think what you are saying is if it feels and/or sounds right, in your gut, it probably is. We are our own best therapist and the one true expert on ourselves, and I believe we all have a built in instinct that tells us whether the direction we are heading is right for us. We do, however, sometimes ignore that instinct, but it seems to surface in some way (bugs us, eats at us) until we are compelled not necessarily address the situation/feeling, but simply to act. Anyway, I am again tangentalizing,lol. Love what you wrote!

We do, however, sometimes ignore that instinct, but it seems to surface in some way (bugs us, eats at us) until we are compelled not necessarily address the situation/feeling, but simply to act.This is very well said!

The thing that keeps getting me is HOW MUCH I relate to the types of issues/feelings/experiences people are posting on this forum. Over and over I feel like "this is me!" And I've been to other forums where people decribe their depression and anxiety--and have read a lot of books and pamphlets, too--and nothing has ever made a light go on like what I've read about ADHD over the past three weeks. I've just never seen myself so much in a description of anything. It's freaky.

I'm waiting to find out what my insurance co will pay for as far as psych tests, and then I'm going to call the therapist I saw to make sure she'll read over the ADHD checklists I've done and talk to my spouse. And if not, I'll be finding a different therapist. I need to make sure I find someone who "hears" me and doesn't dismiss me.

But, since I'm incredibly impatient, I wanted all of this done a week ago--diagnosis, treatment, and on to the rest of my life. :)

/amys

While reading about ADHD the symptoms fit me so well that, first of all, I felt recognition like I've never felt in my life. I'm not sure if anyone else has had that, but for me it was really, really weird. I have never fit anywhere or anything and there I was in writing, in a book.
This has been mentioned a lot. :)

Get the book, "Driven to Distraction, by Ned Hallowell/John Ratey.

If you can relate to the descriptions in the book, then this only will re-enforce your "gut" feeling.

A lot of people report that the book was written about themselves.

There is an updated version called "Delivered from Distraction", but try to read the original first.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Get the book, "Driven to Distraction, by Ned Hallowell/John Ratey.Yep, this was the first place where I was, literally, stunned to see myself described on paper. I thought, How do these guys know me???? I've read parts of the other two (Delivered From Distraction and Answers to Distraction), which have reinforced the feelings.

Seriously, I was ready to get on a plane and fly to the Hallowell center. In fact, I've not completely ruled that out!

I will definitely keep you all posted re: testing, diagnosis, and treatment decisions. For now, I'm just happy to have found you guys!

/amys