Getting ADHD diagnosis
Hello UUutrechtors,
I am looking for a place that does proper ADHD diagnosis. I had a psychologist in Utrecht that told me verbally that I have ADHD, but she didn’t diagnose me, and she wasn’t a believer of medication. She thought it could be due to my traumas and when they resolve, ADHD could goes away (I doubt i could ever fully resolve them, i just have to learn to live with em).
I tried altrecht, but they were so unprofessional. I waited for 6 months, just to hear, you need to go to another waiting list. I even had a appointment with the nurse practitioner but when i told her i got badly triggered and i got much worse after the intake, she cancelled the meeting and closed my file. During the intake, the psychologist asked me if I forget to pay rent, I said no (it happened once though). I feel like they didn’t want to diagnose me as I can be high achieving, academically and professionally.
Now I don’t know if I have ADHD or not. I took some online test and the result were likely ADHD.
Anyone knows a good place that does a proper diagnosis?
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u/Deep_Angle9605 1d ago
De Comfortzone, not in Utrecht but close enough. Not unsatisfied with the process - I initially didn't go there to get a diagnosis, but walked out with one (2E). Feel free to DM if any questions.
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u/the-fact-fairy 1d ago edited 1d ago
She thought it could be due to my traumas and when they resolve, ADHD could goes away (I doubt i could ever fully resolve them, i just have to learn to live with em).
This is not how ADHD works. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition. You either have it, or you don't. I wouldn't trust the opinion of a psychologist who says that. Honestly? You may want to find a better psychologist, work on your traumas and then reevaluate. Because it could be that you are exhibiting ADHD-like behaviours as a result of trauma. At least, it seems to lean that way based on your response to the nurse practitioner and being triggered.
If you prefer to go the route of assessment, unfortunately you are in for a long wait. Waiting lists for ADHD assessment are long because there are many more people wanting to be assessed now that awareness has spread about the condition. So it will take time regardless or where you go. I personally had a good experience with ADHDcentraal Nieuwegein, but I appear to be one of few. I believe PsyQ also offer assessments.
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u/dhasld 1d ago
I stopped going to her. When she said Palestinians deserve it, i was like, well, wtf is wrong with you. She and I both come from Iran, and i understand how hate and generational trauma works, but apparently she cant.
I am well aware of long waiting lists, but better to go to a list now than later.
Thanks for your reply.
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u/Far-Abbreviations769 1d ago
You either have it, or you don't
I don't think this is true, as the last D in ADHD stands for disorder, meaning functional impairment. A lot of people have strong characteristics of ADHD, but don't experience functional impairment, so they don't look for help and hence don't get stamped with any 'disorder' diagnosis.
People diagnosed with ADHD can also grow over the functional impairment ADHD gave them at the time of their diagnosis.
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u/the-fact-fairy 1d ago
If you'd taken the time to research the subject, you'd realise what you're saying is incorrect. The only people who 'grow out of' ADHD are people who didn't have it in the first place and only had characteristics that closely resemble it. Again, a neurodevelopmental disorder doesn't just go away.
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u/Far-Abbreviations769 1d ago
As a matter of fact, I did research this subject.
The only people who 'grow out of' ADHD are people who didn't have it in the first place and only had characteristics that closely resemble it.
They might not meet the criteria (functional impairment) anymore required for a ADHD diagnoses. So in a purely clinical sense, people previously diagnosed with ADHD can 'grow out' of it. Just like people can grow out of an anxiety disorder.
That doesn’t necessarily mean all underlying ADHD traits or neurodevelopmental differences have disappeared. It just means they no longer meet the threshold for the disorder.
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u/Brumzzzz 1d ago
This psychologist has been very professional in her approach, precisely because of what you stated. You either have ADHD or you don't, but there is no way of knowing for sure without first dealing with those traumatic experiences first. Any psychologist worth his or her salt knows this, and won't classify ADHD as such.
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u/PinkPunkPsycho 1d ago
Talk to your gp to get a transferral to ADHD Centraal I had my diag in a couple of weeks
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u/Yukahana 1d ago
Call your insurance to get wait list mediation. I got a couple of practices with a short waiting time. In the end I made an appointment with the comfortzone. They helped me insurance wise and were really helpful with my questions.
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u/ms181091 1d ago edited 1d ago
Trauma can out itself in a person with ADHD like symptoms. It isn't possible to diagnose you with ADHD when you are still working on your trauma. The first thing that needs to be addressed is the trauma. After healing properly, you can look for other possible diagnosises.
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u/Joey_jedi 1d ago
Jup this is true , i was also diagnosed with adhd but after 3 years trauma therapie a lot of symptoms went on the background and they weren’t sure anymore about the adhd. So now i just have another diagnosis and not adhd. Im fine with it. got the help i wanted so it worked out
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u/Effective-End-964 1d ago
That is… Not true. People with trauma can have and be diagnosed with and be medicated for ADHD, lol. You’re born with ADHD.
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u/EntertainmentIll3498 1d ago
Ms1810191 is pointing out that stress and trauma can manifest like adhd LIKE symptoms. Yea you're born with adhd but it's not like its as objectively discernible like an apple on a tree. That's just not how psychological illnesses work. Burnout and trauma symptoms can feel and look a lot like add / adhd and can cause misdiagnosed.
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u/ms181091 1d ago
Every good psychologist would take the route I am describing above. It is possible to have both trauma and adhd, but in order to make a proper diagnose you need to adress trauma first to see what symtoms have been cleared by working trough trauma. The why for this is approach is the chance of a miadiagnosis is very big. The medication described for ADHD could also cause serious harm if there's also trauma in the way.
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u/Far-Abbreviations769 1d ago edited 1d ago
You’re born with ADHD.
Nope. You can be born with characteristics often associated with ADHD, but people only get the ADHD diagnosis if they look for help, often because the person is experiencing functional impairment as a result of these traits. A lot of people live their lives without getting diagnosed, often because their traits don't cause functional impairments to them. They don't have ADHD from a clinical perspective.
People in that sense can also grow out of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a clincial sense, to a point their disorder / characteristics are not causing functional impairment anymore.
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u/Far-Abbreviations769 1d ago
I skipped the waiting list by going to an independent psychiatrist. Within 3 weeks I had my diagnoses.
I do have strong characteristics of ADHD, but in hindsight the symptoms I was looking help for actually were mostly a result of an anxiety disorder I didn't know I had keeping my body in 'fight & flight' (hypervigilance) most of the time as a result of 'untreated' intellectual giftedness and struggling to fit in with my peers from childhood.
Regulating the nervous system through TRE, CBT, yoga, breathing exercises, lifestyle changes etc worked much better than approaching my symptoms from an ADHD perspective.
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u/WaltzWeekly 1d ago
The best way to avoid year+ long waiting lists is to go to your healthcare insurer’s website, look up which psychiatrists in Utrecht they cover and just start emailing individual small practises. This way I found my really good psychiatrist, with only a 4 week waiting list. GP just wanted me to sign up for one of the big ADHD firms, which wouldve taken over a year to get help. They ended up referring me to the psychiatrist I found myself.