Starting is hard when your nervous system confuses effort with threat. That’s why ADHD paralysis often shows up in high-achievers who’ve pushed through for years. EMDR, IFS, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy address the deeper patterns behind that shutdown—healing the body’s association between performance and danger. With nervous system regulation and compassionate self-leadership, action becomes something you can trust rather than fear.

When ADHD triggers conflict, repair often turns into self-blame. Learning to pause, ground, and lead from Self allows for ownership without over-apology. Through IFS, EMDR, and Sensorimotor techniques, it’s possible to calm the body, soften protective parts, and speak from clarity instead of shame. 90-minute+ Intensives offer space for these patterns to shift more fully. ADHD therapy in Washington, DC helps repair feel steady, compassionate, and real.

When you can’t relax no matter how much you try, it’s not a personal failure—it’s a sign your nervous system has been carrying too much for too long. Through trauma-informed approaches like EMDR, IFS, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, therapy helps your body learn that it no longer needs to stay on guard. You begin to feel the difference between “numb” and “calm,” between “on edge” and “at ease.” Healing starts when your body finally believes it’s safe to rest.

You can be surrounded by friends and still feel lonely. Often, what we crave isn’t more social events, but deeper emotional connection — the kind that feels safe, reciprocal, and nourishing. Old protective patterns, trauma, anxiety, or ADHD can make intimacy feel risky, leaving you stuck in surface-level connection. With approaches like EMDR, IFS, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and therapy intensives, it’s possible to soften those barriers and experience closeness that feels authentic and sustaining.

Living with ADHD often means navigating a world that wasn’t designed with your brain in mind. Therapy can be transformative, but the traditional one-hour-a-week format doesn’t always match the way ADHD brains process, focus, and integrate information. If you’ve ever left a therapy session feeling like you were just starting to get somewhere—only to have to shut it down until next week—you’re not alone.

If you’ve ever been told you’re “too sensitive,” you know how painful those words can feel. They carry an edge of judgment — as if your emotions are somehow excessive, wrong, or a flaw that needs to be fixed. For many of my clients, especially those navigating ADHD, anxiety, or relational trauma, this label has been following them since childhood.

If you live with ADHD and find yourself constantly anxious, you’re not imagining the connection. The overlap between anxiety and ADHD is more than just common—it’s baked into the way ADHD brains function. And yet, many people are left feeling confused, overwhelmed, or misdiagnosed, wondering: Why can’t I relax, even when nothing is technically wrong? Why does everything feel so urgent all the time?

Let’s explore how ADHD and anxiety interact—and how trauma-informed therapy (including EMDR, IFS, and therapy intensives) can help you find clarity, calm, and lasting relief.

When most people hear “EMDR,” they think of trauma therapy—and they’re not wrong. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) was originally developed to help people heal from painful or overwhelming life events. But what many don’t realize is that EMDR can also be a deeply powerful tool for people living with ADHD—especially when it’s tangled with shame, perfectionism, and emotional intensity.

ADHD isn’t just about distraction or forgetting your keys. For many adults, especially those who weren’t diagnosed until later in life, ADHD can quietly chip away at your time, your money, your self-esteem, and your sense of peace.

It’s not just the missed appointments or the half-finished projects—it’s the emotional toll of constantly wondering if you’re falling behind, disappointing others, or “just not getting it together.”

And here’s the hard part: sometimes, traditional therapy doesn’t move quickly enough to catch up to the urgency you feel inside.

That’s why therapy intensives can be such a powerful option for people with ADHD. They allow you to dive in, create momentum, and actually feel a shift—in a fraction of the time.

When you’re living with ADHD, you’re often moving through life with a complicated relationship to time, focus, and follow-through. You might feel like you’re constantly catching up, starting over, or spinning your wheels on things that should feel manageable.

And while therapy can be life-changing, traditional weekly sessions don’t always feel like the best fit—especially for ADHD brains that crave momentum, depth, and flexibility.

This is where therapy intensives can be a powerful, neurodivergent-friendly option. Let’s talk about why.

As a trauma recovery therapist, I find it deeply rewarding to work with clients who are navigating the intersection of ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and past traumatic experiences. This dynamic can be challenging, but it also reveals the strengths and resilience of individuals with ADHD. I take great satisfaction in helping clients uncover these strengths, work through the complexities of ADHD and trauma, and create lives that feel more manageable, balanced, and meaningful. In this blog, I’ll explore the relationship between ADHD and trauma, how they impact each other, and how therapy can be a powerful tool in the healing process.