Overwhelm and executive function
The starting, the stopping, the mountain of half-finished things. We look at what actually helps your brain, not what's supposed to work for a brain that isn't yours.
ADHD therapy for adults
An ADHD therapist in Austin, in person and online across Texas
Neurodivergent-affirming therapy for adults, working with your brain rather than against it, whether you're newly questioning ADHD or have known for years.
Emily Satel, LPC
Therapy that works with an ADHD brain
Most adults with ADHD have spent a long time being handed advice built for a different kind of brain. Try harder. Just make a list. Why can't you focus when it matters? Neurodivergent-affirming therapy starts from the opposite place: your brain isn't broken, and the goal isn't to make you pass as neurotypical.
Instead, we get curious about how your particular mind actually works, where it shines, where it snags, and what genuinely helps. That often means loosening the grip of shame first, because for a lot of people the hardest part of ADHD isn't the attention itself but the years of being told they were lazy, careless, or not trying.
This is affirming, practical, relational work for the whole person, not a set of productivity hacks. Sometimes it looks like building gentler systems; often it looks like grieving the version of yourself you thought you were supposed to be, and getting to know the one you actually are.
What we might work on
ADHD rarely shows up on its own or in a tidy list. These are some of the threads that come up most, and we follow whichever ones matter to you.
Rejection sensitivity
When a small piece of criticism or a misread text can flatten a whole day. We make sense of that intensity and build a little more room around it.
Shame and the "lazy" story
Years of being told to just try harder leave a mark. A lot of the work is unlearning the idea that struggling with certain things means something is wrong with you.
Masking and burnout
The exhaustion of holding it together and performing "fine" all day. We look at what it costs you and where you might be able to set some of it down.
Late-recognized ADHD
Coming to this as an adult, maybe after a child's diagnosis or a scroll that hit too close to home, and re-reading your whole life through a new lens.
Emotional regulation
The fast, big feelings and the trouble getting off the ride. Somatic, body-based tools can help here as much as talking does.
I get it because I live it
I have ADHD myself. When I'm not working, you'll probably find me outdoors, dancing to live music, getting lost in an epic fantasy novel, or enthusiastically diving into whatever hyperfixation has captured my attention this month.
I share that not as a credential but because it shapes how I sit with clients. I'm not observing ADHD from a distance; I know the internal weather of it, the way time can fold and stretch, the pull of the interesting thing, the specific ache of caring deeply and still dropping the ball. That tends to make the work feel less like being assessed and more like being understood.
It also keeps me honest about what actually helps versus what just sounds good on paper. Alongside talk therapy I draw on somatic, body-based work, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), because regulation and self-compassion often land in the body before they land in the mind.
A note on scope
Therapy support, not testing or medication
To be clear about what this is: I offer affirming therapy for adults living with ADHD. I don't provide formal ADHD evaluations or psychological testing, and as a Licensed Professional Counselor I don't prescribe or manage medication. If a diagnosis or medication is something you're after, that's a conversation for a psychologist, psychiatrist, or your physician, and I'm glad to work alongside them.
You don't need a formal diagnosis to start therapy here. Plenty of clients arrive still figuring out whether ADHD fits, and that curiosity is a perfectly good place to begin.
Sessions & logistics
- Format In person & online South Austin, plus virtual across Texas
- Length 50 minutes Typically weekly to start
- Fee $175 / session Limited sliding scale when available
- Insurance Out-of-network Superbills provided for reimbursement
You'll receive a Texas Good Faith Estimate before we begin. ADHD support is part of individual therapy, not a separate program or fee, and it's available in person in South Austin or online across Texas.