Beyond the Myths: What ADHD Therapy Really Is
- Dr Tiffany Leung
- Nov 25, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 24, 2025
🧭 Why this guide matters
If you have wondered “Can therapy really help my ADHD?” or felt unsure what “getting help” means, you are not alone.
In Part 1: ADHD Therapy: An Introductory Guide, we explored how therapy supports understanding and self-compassion.
If you are exploring ADHD therapy or simply wondering what support might fit you best, this guide offers clarity before you take your next step.
📊 Did you know?
About 2.6 % of UK adults live with ADHD, yet many, especially women and people of colour, remain undiagnosed due to cultural masking and achievement pressure (NICE 2023).
Let us look at the five most common myths that keep people from feeling supported or hopeful about ADHD therapy.
These myths are not only misunderstandings about ADHD therapy: they are unspoken feelings many people carry about themselves.
In therapy, unlearning these myths often becomes the first step toward self-understanding.
Many adults spend years feeling like their struggles are invisible or misunderstood. This guide is a reminder that understanding begins with compassion, not correction.
💡 Myth 1 — “I Need to Be Fixed.”
“For many, this belief feels heavy.”
Therapy does not fix you; it helps you reconnect.
ADHD is not a flaw.
Research shows ADHD involves differences in executive functioning, the brain’s ability to plan, prioritise, and sustain focus. Therapy helps you work with those differences rather than against them.
Many people approach therapy fearing it will label or change who they are.
ADHD informed therapy in fact offers understanding, an anchor for self-acceptance and adaptation.
I thought therapy would fix my focus, but it gave me something better: peace with how my mind moves. — Client's reflection
This is what ADHD-informed therapy helps you do: shift from fixing to understanding. This process is supported by cognitive-behavioural and compassion-based approaches that focus on awareness and response flexibility.
⚖️ Challenge you might recognise: Constant self-criticism for being “too much.”
💫 Strength within it: Deep insight and creativity emerge once self-judgement softens.
🌱 Try this:
Place your hand over your chest and breathe out slowly, saying, “I am learning, not broken.”
💭 Have you noticed...? What happens when you treat curiosity as repair instead of correction?
🌏 In some cultures, the word ‘fixing’ carries the weight of family or social expectation. Therapy gently reframes this into adaptation, learning to live with your brain’s rhythm, not against it.
Therapy does not fix attention — it rebuilds connection.
Progress is not dramatic, but it is real.
🌱 Myth 2 — “I Will Never Change; That Is Just My ADHD.”
“Some fear this means they can never change.”
ADHD often persists, but your experience of it can change dramatically.
Through neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new pathways, therapy helps you create different responses even when ADHD remains a lifelong condition.
Therapy helps you notice what works, practise it, and repeat it until it becomes part of you. This therapy often focuses on practical areas: emotion regulation, time-management, and self-compassion, all proven to enhance daily functioning. Progress appears in moments: pausing before reacting, remembering self-care, naming what helps.
A client once shared,
‘Change used to scare me. Now I see it as learning how to meet myself differently each day.'
Pause here, stretch your shoulders, and notice one moment from today that felt like progress.
⚖️ Challenge you might recognise: Feeling stuck or hopeless after many repeated attempts.
💫 Strength within it: Persistence and adaptive thinking are the same traits that keep you searching for better systems and ways to grow.
🌱 Try this:
Keep a “micro-win” list for one week. Note any moment of awareness or small victory.
💭 Have you noticed...?: When have you already changed without realising it?
🌏 In some communities, change is equated with cure. ADHD therapy instead speaks of living with difference: finding steadiness, not perfection.
“In your culture, what does ‘trying your best’ usually mean, and how might that shape how you view rest or focus?”
📚 Did you know?
Asian and minority ethnic adults are often underdiagnosed due to cultural stigma, masking, and academic pressure, despite similar symptom profiles (NICE 2023, BPS 2022).
🪶 Myth 3 — “I Need to Attend Therapy to Improve My ADHD.”
People often ask: “Will therapy alone improve my ADHD?”
Therapy is not homework correction; it is understanding context.
It is one part of a larger picture: therapy, environment, medication, and support systems working together.
Therapy helps you identify patterns in mood, focus, and environment, rather than aiming for perfect productivity.
In sessions, clients often discover that healing focus begins with self-forgiveness, not stricter rules.
“In therapy, I realised productivity wasn’t my problem...shame was.”
⚖️ Challenge you might recognise: Believing that therapy’s goal is productivity or efficiency.
💫 Strength within it: Discovering that emotional regulation and self-compassion naturally improve attention and focus.
🌱 Try this:
When you catch yourself chasing productivity, pause and ask, “What feeling am I avoiding / missing right now?”
💭 Do you notice...?
Do you notice a difference between improving performance and improving wellbeing?
Additionally, therapy is a key part of care, but it works best within a broader system. Approaches such as CBT for executive function, mindfulness-based therapy, or ADHD coaching offer practical ways to apply insight day-to-day.
Therapy builds emotional insight and practical strategies, while medication, coaching, and environment support the biological and daily-life sides of ADHD.
🌏 Some people feel more supported in coaching, community, or faith-based spaces. Culturally responsive therapy recognises these preferences and works alongside them.
How has your culture taught you to define ‘trying your best’, and how might that shape how you see focus or rest?
📚 NICE (2018) recommends multimodal care: therapy + skills training + mindfulness + coaching + environmental support. CDC research also shows that behavioural interventions and CBT for ADHD improve time-management, emotional regulation, and functioning. (CDC 2024)
You do not need to choose one path; your wellbeing grows from how these supports connect.
🧠 Myth 4 — “I Must Take Medication — That’s the Only Way.”
“This thought can fuel shame or hopelessness.”
Medication can be highly effective, especially stimulants, but it is not the only route to growth.
Therapy builds emotional insight, identity grounding, and sustainable coping strategies, skills that medication alone cannot teach.
In modern ADHD care, medication decisions are best made through shared decision-making: you, your clinician, and your therapist exploring what fits your values and needs.
⚖️ Challenge you might recognise: Depending heavily on external fixes or comparing yourself to others’ progress.
💫 Strength within it: Building inner tools that sustain focus and calm, even when external supports fade.
I was terrified of medication because of what my community said. Talking through it in therapy helped me make a decision that felt mine. A client's reflection
🌱 Try this:
Each morning, name one internal support (“I can pause and plan”) and one external support (“I will use reminders or structure”).
🌏 Attitudes toward medication differ widely: some families see it as essential, others fear dependency. In therapy we explore these beliefs openly, helping you make informed choices.
Therapists and prescribers often use a shared-decision model, which means choices are made together, respecting both evidence and your values.
Some people thrive without medication through structured routines and therapy alone; ADHD support is most effective when it fits your lived reality.
Therapy helps you recognise what works best for you, without judgement, only informed choice.
📚 NICE Guidelines (2018) and CDC guidelines show stimulant medication reduces core symptoms; combining it with therapy and lifestyle changes yields the best long-term outcomes.
Studies also show combining therapy with self-management strategies increases long-term confidence and reduces dependency on external aids.
🏥 Policy update:
The NHS Long Term Plan (2024) now recognises ADHD as a key area for adult mental health support, recommending therapy alongside medication and coaching to promote sustainable wellbeing and equitable access to care.
💬 Myth 5 — “I Can Only Get Help from Psychiatrists or Psychologists.”
People often ask: “Who actually helps with ADHD?”
I used to think therapy was the only option. Then I realised my friends and bilingual mentors also kept me grounded.
Support can come from:
ADHD coaches
Occupational therapists
GPs and psychiatrists
Educators and workplace mentors
Peer and community networks.
The key is finding relationships that feel safe and collaborative.
⚖️ Challenge you might recognise: Believing professional titles guarantee safety or fit.
💫 Strength within it: Trusting your intuition and emotional data — learning which relationships help you feel most seen and supported.
🌱 Try this:
After meeting a new professional, note how you feel: calmer, judged, or understood? That feeling is data.
💭 Reflect: What qualities help you feel safe enough to be yourself?
🌏 In many cultures, people first seek support from within families, religious communities, or peers rather than formal services. This too can be a meaningful start.
For communities with mistrust of mental-health systems, culturally specific or bilingual practitioners can bridge the gap. Therapy can partner with community leaders, faith groups, or bilingual mentors to build shared understanding.
Therapy does not stand alone in this process; it grows stronger when collaboration and trust lead the way.
🧩 Professional reflection:
No single profession holds all the answers...collaboration is where real change begins.
In my practice, I often collaborate with other professionals to make care joined-up, trauma-informed, and culturally relevant.
UPMC’s integrated ADHD model highlights therapy + education + peer support as effective care.
If you are curious about how I work collaboratively with other professionals, you can learn more here.
✨ Closing
ADHD therapy is not about diagnosis or discipline.
It is about relationship, rhythm, and reframing.
You are not here to erase traits; you are here to reclaim understanding.
Once I stopped trying to be ‘normal,’ I began learning what actually supports me.
💭 Have you noticed...?
Which myth have you carried the longest, and what might shift if you set it down?
If therapy helped you see your mind with kindness, what possibilities might open next?
Imagine sitting in sunlight after years of fog; therapy helps that clarity become part of your daily rhythm.
As these myths begin to loosen, therapy turns from self-correction into self-connection. It helps that clarity become part of everyday life.
In Part 3, we will explore how understanding becomes growth, moving from insight to daily life integration.
If you recognise yourself in these reflections and wonder how ADHD therapy might support you, you can learn more about working with me or book a brief consultation to discuss your next steps.
🌿 Explore More (from Common Myths about ADHD Therapy)
🧠 Written by Dr Tiffany Leung
HCPC-Registered Chartered Counselling Psychologist Part of the educational series on human-centred therapy, culture, and wellbeing.
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