"Working with your ADHD, I'll help you to overcome whatever obstacles are holding you back."

Helen Raynham
Chartered Psychologist & ADHDer

Therapy & Coaching Services

1:1 ADHD Therapy

If you know or suspect you have ADHD, life is likely an ever-changing obstacle course. Understandably, this can result in overwhelm, frustration, stress, and feelings of shame. On top of this, people with ADHD often have a loud inner critic and are more perceptive to criticism of others – all of which can be detrimental to their mental health and well-being. Therapy can help you process these difficult emotions and explore how experiences from your past and your childhood might be holding you back.

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Parent, Couple & Family Therapy

Therapy provides a safe, supportive space to address the challenges of ADHD and its impact on relationships. It's an opportunity for couples, parents and families to learn how to work together and improve their ability to support each other through the ups and downs of life with ADHD.

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1:1 ADHD Coaching

ADHD coaching will enable you to set achievable and sustainable goals, helping you to develop organisational strategies, overcome procrastination, and improve your time management skills. Focusing on the here and now, and working with your individual strengths, coaching can help you to feel more in control of your life.

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EMDR Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidenced-based therapeutic technique that can help relieve trauma symptoms, such as disturbing memories, anxiety, panic, post-traumatic stress, and other emotional problems.

EMDR can have rapid results, which can provide lasting relief, and it is recommended in the NICE guidelines (2018) as an effective treatment for trauma and complex trauma. Research suggests that EMDR is effective in helping to relieve the symptoms of trauma that sometimes co-exist with ADHD Guidetti, Brogna, Chieffo, & Turrini, et al. (2023).

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Diagnostic Services

ADHD Assessment

Assessments are conducted face-to-face in my clinics in Cambridgeshire or online via video call.

Assessments can take up to 3 hours, during which you will be asked a series of questions that will enable me to understand your difficulties and how they have impacted you throughout your life.

I will ask you to complete a questionnaire before the assessment. It is helpful if a relative or friend who knows you well can also contribute to the questionnaire, as this provides a thorough picture of your experiences.

Please note that I am not offering diagnostic services until Summer 2024.

QbCheck

QbCheck can only be administered face-to-face in my clinics in Cambridgeshire.

QbCheck is a computer-based assessment that can provide an objective evaluation of the core symptoms of ADHD. You will receive a full diagnostic report including a QB report and interpretation of the results. However, QbCheck alone is not sufficient to diagnose ADHD and the report provided will not constitute a diagnosis.

Please note that I am not offering diagnostic services until Summer 2024.

QbCheck & ADHD Assessment Combined

A full assessment (with QbCheck) can only be conducted face-to-face in my clinics in Cambridgeshire.

An assessment combined with a QbCheck is recommended as this offers the most thorough assessment combining subject and objective measures.

lease note that I am not offering diagnostic services until Summer 2024.

About Me

I’m a Chartered Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC), the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and the British Psychological Society (BPS). I have ADHD and I specialise in working with clients who have (or suspect they have) ADHD.

My Credentials

I’ve worked as a Senior Psychologist in the NHS and as a Psychotherapist in various organisations. I have over 15 years of experience working in mental health in multiple settings (education, NHS, and the prison service).

During my career, I’ve supported countless clients with ADHD and helped parents support their children, and adults to understand their partners. I decided to specialise in ADHD following my own diagnosis.

Qualifications & Training

Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS)
PhD Psychology (University of Roehampton) in progress
Chartered Counselling Psychologist (CPsychol)
Doctorate-level Qualification in Counselling Psychology (QCoP)
King's College London/UKAAN ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment Training
Accredited EMDR Training
PGCert Family and Systemic Therapy (family and couple therapy)
MA Counselling and Psychotherapy
PGDip Counselling and Psychotherapy
BSc (Hons) Psychology
Registered Psychotherapist (BACP)
Registered Practitioner Psychologist (HCPC)
Member of the BACP Coaching Division
Member of the ADHD Coaching Organisation (ACO)

Publications
Raynham, H., Cooper, M., Hayes, J., Rae, J. and Pearce, P., (2024). Helpful and unhelpful factors in school-based counselling and pastoral care as usual: analysis of qualitative data from the experience of service questionnaire. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, pp.1-15.

Raynham, H., & Jinks, G. (2022). Do teaching staff in primary schools perceive any impacts of school-based counselling on school engagement? British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 50(2), 230-247.

My ADHD

I was diagnosed with ADHD in my forties, and whilst it wasn't a huge surprise, getting a diagnosis was a bittersweet experience.

Knowing I have ADHD has helped me become gentler to myself when I'm overwhelmed, I've learnt strategies to get more organised, and I am more accepting of the things I find difficult. However, trawling through my childhood and being honest about my struggles (after four decades of masking) was difficult.

Like many people with late ADHD diagnoses, the process left me wondering how my life might have been different had I been diagnosed as a child, and feeling sad for the little girl who was misunderstood for all those years. Therapy was invaluable in helping me to process the complex and sometimes conflicting emotions that I felt about my ADHD, and I am passionate about helping others on the same journey.

My Approach

My approach to ADHD is neuro-affirmative, compassion-focused and grounded in contemporary research, which suggests:

Increased self-compassion is a valid therapeutic target for adults with ADHD (Beaton, Sirois & Milne, 2022; Farmer, Ohan, Finlay-Jones & Bayliss, 2023)
Adults with an ADHD diagnosis are significantly less self-compassionate and perceive higher levels of criticism than those without ADHD (Beaton, Sirois & Milne, 2020)
Adults with ADHD tend to have lower levels of emotional well-being and higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress than their non-ADHD counterparts; this can be partially attributed to lower levels of self-compassion among adults with ADHD (Beaton, Sirois & Milne, 2020; 2022)
Schemas are deeply entrenched emotional patterns developed in childhood that continue to influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviours into adulthood. Adults with ADHD tend to demonstrate a significantly higher level of maladaptive schemas (Lücke et al., 2017).
Identifying and modifying maladaptive schemas can be an important and useful method for the therapeutic treatment of ADHD (Kiraz & Sertçelik (2021).

FAQs

What are your fees?

£15 for a 25-minute discovery call

£110 for 50-minute 1:1 sessions (6/12 session packages available)

£120 for 60-minute EMDR or couples/parents/family sessions

Do you offer ADHD assessments?

Yes, I am qualified to provide diagnoses and have undertaken additional training in ADHD diagnostic tools. Please note I do not have availability for diagnostic assessments until Summer 2024.

Please contact me for more information and to be added to my waiting list.

Do you work with people who don’t have or suspect they have ADHD?

Yes, as a chartered psychologist, I can help with a range of issues that are not related to ADHD. I work with many clients who come to therapy for issues completely unrelated to ADHD such as relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression or symptoms related to trauma and complex trauma. I work with individuals, couples and can provide support to parents. Please book a discovery call – if I don’t think I'm the right person to help, I might be able to suggest alternatives.

Do I need an ADHD diagnosis to work with you?

Absolutely not! You do not need a diagnosis to work with me.

What is your availiability?

As of March 2024, my availability is limited, but please click here to be added to the waiting list. Current wait time for an appointment is approximately 6-8 weeks.

What’s the booking process?

Please book a discovery call so we can talk about what you need and whether I might be able to help you.

If we agree to work together, I can usually arrange your initial therapy session, typically within 2 to 8 weeks.

How many sessions will I need?

It really depends! Research suggests that between 8-12 sessions is typically helpful – but you may decide you need fewer or more sessions. Usually, we will have come to a shared decision about this by our third session together. You are under no obligation to commit to a set number of sessions and you can end your therapy/coaching at any time.

Do you accept Access to Work clients

Yes, I work with ATW clients and can provide a quote.

Are you insured?

Yes. I am fully insured and hold an enhanced DBS certificate. I adhere to the ethical standards of the HCPC, the BPS, and the BACP.

Do you work with Children?

No, unfortunately, I only work with children as part of family therapy. My services are aimed at adults 18 and over.

Do you accept health insurance?

Yes, I currently accept AXA and Aviva. You will usually just need a referral for therapy from your GP.

Therapy | Coaching | Assessments

Helen Raynham
Chartered Psychologist & ADHDer

Therapy & Coaching Services

Diagnostic Services