Adult ADHD Assessment Sydney
Comprehensive private ADHD assessments for adults in Sydney CBD and via telehealth across Australia. PhD-trained Clinical Psychologist. Detailed report, feedback session, and medication referral pathway included.
About Adult ADHD Assessments
Adult ADHD is consistently underdiagnosed, and frequently misdiagnosed. Diagnostic criteria were historically developed based on hyperactive childhood presentations, most visible in young boys, meaning that adults, women, and those with primarily inattentive profiles were routinely missed, labelled as anxious or disorganised, and told to work harder at things that would always be structurally harder for them.
Many adults arrive at an ADHD assessment having already tried and found insufficient explanations for their experience: anxiety treatment that helped but never quite resolved things; therapy that gave insight but didn't change the pattern; a sense of chronic underperformance relative to their own potential, alongside the self-blame that fills the gap.
At FORME Psychology, we provide comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming ADHD assessments for adults. A thorough assessment includes structured clinical interviews, validated rating scales, and clinical judgement, followed by a detailed written report and a feedback session to ensure you leave with clarity and a clear path forward.
Many adults arrive at an ADHD assessment having already tried and found insufficient explanations for their experience: anxiety treatment that helped but never quite resolved things; therapy that gave insight but didn't change the pattern; a sense of chronic underperformance relative to their own potential, alongside the self-blame that fills the gap.
At FORME Psychology, we provide comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming ADHD assessments for adults. A thorough assessment includes structured clinical interviews, validated rating scales, and clinical judgement, followed by a detailed written report and a feedback session to ensure you leave with clarity and a clear path forward.
How ADHD Presents in Adults
What Assessment Explores
Adult ADHD presents very differently from the hyperactive child many people picture. In adults and particularly in women, inattentive and internalised presentations are the norm.
Attention & Focus
- Difficulty sustaining attention on tasks that aren't inherently engaging
- Mind wandering in conversations, meetings, or while reading
- Starting many tasks and completing few
- Hyperfocus: intense, extended concentration on topics of interest
- Losing track of time, missing deadlines, underestimating how long things take
- Difficulty filtering out irrelevant stimuli in busy environments
Executive Function
- Difficulty initiating tasks, even when the consequences of not starting are clear
- Chronic disorganisation across multiple areas of life
- Losing items regularly (keys, phone, wallet, documents)
- Difficulty planning, sequencing, and following through on multi-step tasks
- Procrastination that feels involuntary rather than motivational
- Inconsistent performance, excellent on some days, unable to function on others
Emotional & Relational
- Emotional dysregulation: intense emotional reactions that pass quickly
- Rejection sensitivity: strong responses to perceived criticism or failure
- Restlessness: internal rather than physically visible in many adults
- Impulsivity in decisions, spending, relationships, or speech
- Chronic low self-esteem built from years of underperformance relative to potential
- Exhaustion from the ongoing effort of managing ADHD without support
Why Consider an Adult ADHD Assessment?
A formal ADHD assessment provides language, context, and clinical clarity for experiences that have often been attributed to the wrong causes for decades. Adults commonly seek assessment to:
- Inform therapy: an accurate diagnosis significantly changes what effective therapeutic support looks like
- Understand why certain tasks, organising, initiating, following through, are structurally harder than they seem to be for others
- Make sense of chronic underperformance relative to intelligence and effort
- Access a medication pathway: a formal diagnosis is required to access ADHD medication in Australia. Prescribing pathways vary by state, in NSW, both GPs and psychiatrists can be involved. Your report provides the clinical documentation needed to support this process.
- Reduce self-blame by replacing inaccurate explanations with an accurate neurological understanding
- Access workplace accommodations, NDIS supports, or university disability services
- Understand the relationship between ADHD and co-occurring anxiety, depression, or autism
Understanding ADHD
What The Research Tells Us About Adult ADHD
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition with a strong genetic basis. Research consistently shows it involves differences in executive function, attention regulation, and dopamine processing, differences present from childhood that shape every area of life, often without ever being identified or named.
Adult ADHD was historically underdiagnosed and misunderstood. Diagnostic criteria were developed based on hyperactive childhood presentations, most visible in young boys, meaning the inattentive profile, which is far more common in adults (and in women across all ages), went largely unrecognised. Many adults with ADHD reach their 30s, 40s, or later carrying diagnoses of anxiety, depression, or burnout, having been treated for symptoms rather than the underlying neurology.
Anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation are significantly more prevalent in adults with ADHD, often not as separate conditions, but as consequences of years of unrecognised executive dysfunction, chronic underperformance relative to potential, and the accumulated self-blame that fills the gap when no other explanation exists. An accurate diagnosis changes what effective support looks like.
Adult ADHD was historically underdiagnosed and misunderstood. Diagnostic criteria were developed based on hyperactive childhood presentations, most visible in young boys, meaning the inattentive profile, which is far more common in adults (and in women across all ages), went largely unrecognised. Many adults with ADHD reach their 30s, 40s, or later carrying diagnoses of anxiety, depression, or burnout, having been treated for symptoms rather than the underlying neurology.
Anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation are significantly more prevalent in adults with ADHD, often not as separate conditions, but as consequences of years of unrecognised executive dysfunction, chronic underperformance relative to potential, and the accumulated self-blame that fills the gap when no other explanation exists. An accurate diagnosis changes what effective support looks like.
What The Assessment Delivers
What You Can Expect From A FORME Psychology ADHD Assessment
A comprehensive ADHD assessment provides more than a diagnosis. For most adults, it delivers clarity that reframes a lifetime of difficulty and changes what effective support looks like going forward.
- Diagnostic clarity: a clear, evidence-based answer about whether you meet criteria for an ADHD diagnosis
- A comprehensive written report: outlining findings, diagnostic conclusions, and personalised recommendations for therapy, workplace accommodations, and other supports
- A feedback session: to walk through the findings, ask questions, and understand what they mean for you
- Reduced self-blame: replacing years of inaccurate narratives with an accurate neurological understanding of your experience
- A foundation for effective treatment: an ADHD diagnosis changes what therapeutic and medical support is indicated and significantly improves its effectiveness
- Access to supports: NDIS eligibility, workplace accommodations, and university disability services all benefit from a formal diagnosis
- Medication pathway: where medication is being considered, our report provides the documentation a psychiatrist or GP needs to initiate prescribing
Our Approach To Adult ADHD Assessment
Our assessments are comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming, and grounded in current evidence-based practice. We assess the whole person, not just a symptom checklist.
Neurodiversity-affirming
ADHD is understood as a natural variation in human neurodevelopment, not a character flaw or a disorder to be fixed.
Gold-standard Diagnostic Instruments
We use well-validated instruments for adult ADHD assessment, selected to your presentation and confirmed prior to assessment.
Multi-method Assessment
We integrate structured clinical interview, self-report and informant rating scales, and clinical judgement, no single tool is used in isolation.
Sensitive to inattentive and masked presentations
We are experienced in assessing the inattentive and internally experienced presentations of ADHD most commonly missed in standard clinical settings, particularly in women and high-achieving individuals.
Integrated Assessment and Therapy
FORME Psychology also provides ADHD therapy and post-diagnostic support, so you do not need to retell your story to a new clinician.
The Adult ADHD Assessment Process
Our process is structured and designed to be as clear and manageable as possible.
1. Contact Us
Reach out by phone or email to book a private adult ADHD assessment. We will guide you through the process and answer any questions before you begin.
2. Screening Questionnaires
Pre-assessment questionnaires covering attention, executive function, emotional regulation, daily functioning, and mental health history. An informant questionnaire for a partner, family member, or close friend is also included.
3. Structured Clinical Interview
A comprehensive clinical interview, conducted in-person or online, exploring your developmental and psychiatric history, current presentation, and functional impact across work, relationships, and daily life.
4. Rating scales and additional assessment
Validated self-report and informant rating scales are scored and integrated with interview findings. Additional assessment tools may be used depending on your presentation and any co-occurring concerns.
5. Clinical Integration
We integrate all findings, questionnaires, informant ratings, and clinical interview, with clinical expertise, including consideration of co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, or autism.
6. Report Preparation
A detailed written report outlining assessment findings, diagnostic conclusions (if applicable), and personalised recommendations, including for therapy, workplace accommodations, and where relevant, a medication referral pathway.
7. Feedback and Ongoing Support
A feedback session to walk through the report, answer your questions, and discuss next steps. Ongoing ADHD therapy is available at FORME Psychology.
Fees
Adult ADHD Assessment Costs
Our assessments follow Australian clinical practice guidelines and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based care.
ADHD Assessment:
$1,800
Combined Autism and ADHD assessment:
$4,000
Medicare rebates are not available for diagnostic assessments.
Fees cover all assessment sessions, questionnaires, report preparation, and the feedback appointment. Some private health funds may provide partial coverage under extras.
FORME Psychology does not prescribe medication. Where medication is being considered, our report provides the clinical documentation a GP or psychiatrist needs to initiate prescribing.
Why FORME Psychology
What sets us apart
Sydney has many psychology clinics offering ADHD assessments. Here is what distinguishes FORME.
PhD-trained Clinical Psychologist
A doctoral-level training standard above general registration. Clinical psychologists complete additional supervised training in advanced assessment, this distinction matters most for complex, co-occurring, or ambiguous presentations where diagnostic accuracy is essential.
Gold-standard Diagnostic Instruments
We use well-validated, age-appropriate instruments for ADHD assessment, confirmed prior to assessment and selected to your presentation and age group.
Assessment And Therapy Under One Roof
Unlike clinics that assess only, FORME Psychology also provides ADHD therapy and post-diagnostic support. You do not need to re-tell your story to a new clinician after the assessment.
Neurodivergence Expertise
Specialist experience in ADHD, autism, and co-occurring presentations, not neurodivergence as a footnote to a generalist practice.
Experienced in Adult And Late-diagnosed Presentations
We specifically assess inattentive and masked presentations of ADHD, those most commonly missed in standard clinical settings, particularly in women and high-achieving individuals.
Jargon-free, Actionable Reports
Our reports are written to be understood, by you, your family, your school, your GP, and your other treating clinicians. Findings are clear, conclusions are direct, and recommendations are specific.
Warm, Direct Clinical Style
Assessment can feel daunting. We work hard to make the process feel manageable, for the person being assessed and for their family.
Your Psychologist
Dr Bernadette Maunick PhD, Clinical Psychologist
Dr Maunick is a PhD-trained Clinical Psychologist with specialist expertise in ADHD, autism, and neurodivergent presentations across the lifespan. She is experienced in assessing inattentive, masked, and late-diagnosed presentations of ADHD, and in the complex intersection of ADHD with anxiety, depression, autism, and burnout. All assessments are conducted by Dr Maunick personally. Registered with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You can book directly with FORME Psychology without a referral from a GP or psychiatrist.
Typically 2 weeks from initial contact to feedback session, covering questionnaires, structured clinical interview, rating scales, report preparation, and a feedback appointment.
Yes. ADHD and autism frequently co-occur, and we offer combined assessments. See the fees table for combined assessment pricing.
Where diagnostic criteria are not fully met, the assessment still provides clinical clarity about your presentation, your strengths and challenges, and what support may be most helpful.
Yes. Many adults with ADHD, particularly those with high cognitive ability, those who found structure in certain environments, or those with inattentive rather than hyperactive presentations, compensate effectively for years. The assessment specifically explores functional impact across all areas of life, not just surface-level performance.
Structured clinical interview sessions can be conducted online. Some components may require in-person attendance at our Sydney CBD rooms depending on your presentation and the assessment approach agreed.
You receive a comprehensive written report and a 60-minute feedback session. FORME Psychology also offers ADHD therapy and post-diagnostic support if you wish to continue.
A diagnosis doesn't change who you are. It changes how clearly you can see yourself.
Book an adult ADHD assessment with Dr Bernadette Maunick in Sydney CBD.
