ADHD Therapist in New York
Hi, my name is Heather Clifford (she/her) and I'm a ADHD therapist in New York, serving all of New York State via online therapy.
You may be feeling stuck even though you have so many ideas and so much you want to do. It might be hard to follow through on things that matter to you, not because you don't care, but because your brain makes it feel impossible to get started — or to stop once you do. Maybe you've been told your whole life that you're lazy, scattered, or just not trying hard enough. That kind of messaging leaves a mark, and it often shows up as shame, frustration, and a quiet sense that something is just wrong with you.
I help the people I work with understand how their brain actually works and how to stop fighting against it. Together we build strategies that fit you, not the other way around, so you can follow through on what matters, feel better about yourself, and stop losing hours to the cycle of avoidance and guilt.
If you're ready to stop feeling like you're always two steps behind and start working with your brain instead of against it, schedule a complimentary call with me today.
My approach as a ADHD therapist in New York.
ADHD can make even simple tasks feel overwhelming. It doesn't just live in your head it affects your body, your relationships, and your sense of self. You might feel restless, exhausted from trying to focus, or frustrated that you can't seem to follow through on things that matter to you. You can know exactly what you need to do and still find yourself paralyzed, distracted, or down a rabbit hole an hour later wondering how you got there. It's incredibly hard to feel good about yourself when your brain seems to work against you at every turn.
I can help you learn how to work with your brain instead of against it. To do this I take the time to understand how ADHD shows up specifically for you, identify where you're getting stuck, and then use a range of practical skills to help you build a life guided by your values and strengths not by shame or avoidance.
It is important to me to really get to know my clients and understand what's going on beneath the surface. My approach is individualized, collaborative, and goal oriented. We will utilize Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) along with mindfulness-based strategies to help you build self-awareness, self-compassion, and the practical tools to follow through on what matters most. This work is interactive and hands-on. I'll ask you to try things in session and support you in putting what you learn into practice in your everyday life.
Why ACT?
The goal of ACT is to help you create a rich and meaningful life, while accepting the inevitable pain that arises along the way. I feel passionately about this approach because it normalizes experiencing all emotions including sadness, anxiety, and anger. ACT teaches you skills to help you be more present for the beauty and joy that life has to offer while helping you to manage the unavoidable pain and suffering.
Intentionally Inclusive and Socially Conscious
Another important aspect of my practice is recognizing the impact of systems of oppression on mental health (white supremacy, racism, ableism, homophobia, and fatphobia to name just a few). These forces of institutionalized bias are ingrained in our culture and therefore have some influence on everything in our lives, including having a huge impact on mental health. Even within a therapist-client relationship, complex dynamics of power and privilege come into play. I work hard to acknowledge how these forces affect myself and my clients, and I am always open to discuss and explore these topics.
If it feels like your ADHD makes everything harder than it should be, keeps you stuck in cycles of avoidance and frustration, or has you wondering why you can't just do the things everyone else seems to do so easily, don't hesitate to schedule a free consultation.
ADHD Treatment FAQs
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A neurodivergent affirming therapist recognizes that the problem was never your brain. Rather it was being handed a set of rules and expectations that were never built with you in mind. A lot of traditional therapy approaches were designed with neurotypical people in mind, which means they don't always fit the way neurodivergent folks actually think, feel, and process the world. As a neurodivergent affirming therapist I'm not here to help you act more neurotypical or push through using sheer willpower. I'm here to understand how your brain works, meet you where you are, and build an approach that actually fits you. That means being flexible, creative, and genuinely curious about your experience rather than trying to fit you into a one size fits all model. If you've ever left a therapy session feeling like you were doing it wrong, you deserve a space that works differently.
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Yes! Medication can be a really helpful tool for some people, but it isn't the only path forward and it isn't right for everyone. Therapy can help you understand how your brain works, build strategies that actually fit your life, and work through the shame and frustration that often comes with ADHD. Many of my clients come to therapy without medication, and many others use both together. Some become curious during our work together and I will refer them to a provider that I trust. Either way, we will figure out what works best for you.
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They do, and more often than people realize. ADHD and anxiety can look a lot alike on the surface both can cause overthinking, avoidance, and difficulty following through. But they have different roots, and treating them requires attention to both. A lot of my clients come in thinking they have one or the other and discover they're actually navigating both. The good news is that ACT and mindfulness-based approaches work really well for each of them, and especially for the place where they overlap.
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Absolutely. You don't need a diagnosis to start therapy, and honestly, figuring out what's going on is often part of the work. A lot of adults — especially those who were high-achieving earlier in life and go years without realizing that what they've been calling anxiety or laziness might actually be undiagnosed ADHD. If you've been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like you're constantly falling behind and can't figure out why, that's enough of a reason to reach out.
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Rejection sensitive dysphoria, or RSD, is an intense emotional response to the perception of rejection, criticism, or failure. It's extremely common in people with ADHD, though it often goes unrecognized. If you find yourself dreading feedback, avoiding situations where you might be judged, or feeling devastated by things others seem to brush off easily that might be RSD. It can feel like anxiety, but it has its own texture. It's something I work with a lot, and understanding it can be genuinely life changing for people who have spent years wondering why they feel things so intensely.