Is the back of your phone screen cracked? Do you work well under pressure, because you don’t know any other way? Were you a really hyper child? Do you go on a lot of side quests? Is zoning out a given during every meeting? 

Are you stressing out about that thing you need to do, can’t stop thinking about, and know you would feel better if it was done, but you just… can’t?

…when was the last time you, ya know, finished a project you started? (People do that?!)

Therapy for ADHD-ers,

are we reading your mind right now?

Yeah, we thought so — it’s because OUR minds are the same. (And, yeah, our minds are as messy as our junk drawers, and cars, and desks, too.)

 by therapists who are ADHD-ers.

Most of the time, having ADHD feels as overwhelming as reading that long list of questions we just rattled off at you. 

So, when you’re searching for a therapist to help you navigate life as a neurodivergent person (or someone who thinks they may have ADHD), finding someone who actually knows what it’s like to deal with attention deficit hyperactivity is extremely validating. 

And unless you HAVE it, you don’t UNDERSTAND it. 

SO — ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES:

The Curious Collective:

MEET YOUR FUTURE THERAPIST

Therapists With ADHD

(…and also a “No, seriously, learning new hobbies IS my hobby” Hobby Hopper.)

My late diagnosis of ADHD-Combined Type with OCD traits led me to find my sense of self, my purpose, and my people. Getting to know my ADHD mind, brain, and body completely changed my life for the better — in the least cheesy way possible, of course. 

What I couldn't find, though? An Adult ADHD Therapist to help me figure out what to do next. So, I became that therapist for YOU. 

Specializing as a therapist for late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults has been the single best impulsive career move my ADHD mind ever made. But, hey, sometimes impulsivity is just curiosity and creativity gone right!

I founded The Curious Collective in 2021, left my old dream job as an Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit Hospital Social Worker to pursue this new dream job full-time in 2022, and it went so well that I found myself on the TEDxMcMasterU stage in 2023. 

Now, I’m finding out what being a parent is all about, and I’m not taking on any new clients (yet!) — which is why I have found you THE BEST TEAM of ADHD therapists. You can get to know them below!

BA/BSW, MSW, Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist, Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance Member, & The Curious Collective’s Founder

sessions starting at $165/hr

Certifications

Remember I said learning new hobbies was my hobby? I apply that same energy to clinical professional development, so I have done so many webinars and courses that I can’t list them all for the risk that your eyes would entirely glaze over. BUT, some main highlights are: 

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR Basic Trained)
  • Internal Family System-Informed Therapy
  • Integrative Trauma Treatment Provider 
  • ADHD Clinical Services Provider

Education

I have a dual degree Bachelor of Arts in Health, Aging and Society/Bachelor of Social Work from McMaster University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto. 

Diagnosed at...

Age 27

In addition to ADHD, I specialize in:

Trauma, other forms of Neurodivergence (AuDHD mostly!), and Neurodivergent Therapists (it’s hard to find a therapist as a therapist, I see you!)


My ADHD “aha!” moment was:

When I was an MSW Student at a children’s mental health organization and I was co-facilitating a group therapy program for ADHD kids. I have a clear memory of thinking to myself: these kids are amazing, I love their energy and enthusiasm… and I feel like I really get them... no, like REALLY GET them… could I have ADHD? 

I asked myself that question for a few more years before I found the courage to get help, but those years of being ADHD-curious meant I learned everything I possibly could about ADHD, to your benefit now!

Top ~typical therapist~ quote:

“Yeah, that experience makes sense, you’re neurodivergent!”

My ADHD experience still feels new, as a more recently diagnosed woman. I do know it’s why I have worked at four different organizations in my ten year career so far, as I have a zest for change and new challenges! 

I have a BSW from the University of Waterloo, and met Krista at the University of Toronto in 2018 where I obtained a Master of Social Work. My work experience includes community mental health & addictions counselling/case management, outpatient group facilitation and inpatient discharge planning at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health, and counselling at a family health team. I joined The Curious Collective last year! 

Living and working as a therapist with ADHD helps me stay passionate about learning and following desires - sometimes quite impulsively. I see each of my work experiences as personal growth and more tools in my compassionate toolbox that I can then effectively share with others! 

I know the feeling of often shifting between boredom and burnout, and thinking I’m “too much and yet not enough”. This helps me relate more deeply to folks with ADHD or who are ADHD-curious, knowing we are not alone & can together can build more self-compassion & self- acceptance. 

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist and (Mostly Terrified) Rock Climber!

sessions starting at $150/hr

more about marielle's education, certifications & adhd experience

Certifications

ACT, CBT, DBT, DBT for C-PTSD, EFFT, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness Facilitation, MI. Working presently to become an IFS- informed therapist and a certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider. 

Education

BA (2015), BSW (2016), Renison University College at the University of Waterloo., MSW, RSW - specializing in Health and Mental Health, University of Toronto (2019).

Diagnosed at...

…31! 👀

In addition to ADHD, I specialize in:

Imposter Syndrome (kidding, but not…)! And also: group facilitation, psycho-education, mindfulness practice, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for depression & anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, caregiver support, and self-compassion practices. I love working with people of all ages, teens and up!


My ADHD “aha!” moment was:

Actually, those moments keep on happening! 

But before the diagnosis - realizing that my life-long struggles with math & money & navigating directions, constant anxiety, exhausting perfectionism that kept leading to work burnout, and painful people-pleasing ways were all related to having undiagnosed ADHD and not because I just wasn’t smart enough.

Top ~typical therapist~ quote:

“It makes sense that you feel this way. How can you offer some kindness to yourself in this moment?” 

I suppose I could tell you I’m a hobby collector extraordinaire (I’m a ‘jack of all trades, master of absolutely none’ type of gal), but maybe you could’ve guessed that, given the ADHD of it all?

I was asked to keep this brief, but I oop-

Getting to know my own ADHD identity has been a journey. It was something I was aware ~might be a thing~ for a while, until eventually things spiraled and I couldn’t ignore my symptoms any longer. 

This experience has led me to having a deep sense of connection with fellow ADHDers who find themselves struggling to manage symptoms in the day-to-day, and especially when those symptoms suddenly become unmanageable because something either internal or external has changed. 

School was tough for me, but I managed to complete a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) at McMaster University in 2018. I went on to work in community mental health - with a focus on crisis work and suicide intervention - before going back for my Master of Social Work (MSW) at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2020. 

Since then, I have worked in the ICU and Palliative Care, providing support to individuals and families facing end-of-life and life-altering experiences, and I come to this work with special care for experiences of grief and loss (and how they intersect with ADHD - a lot).

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist, and… oh ****, what else do I do??? They didn’t tell me I’d need a catchy bio!

sessions starting at $150/hr

more about ALISON'S education, certifications & adhd experience

Certifications

  • Registered Social Worker (RSW)
  • Trauma Certificate - Wilfrid Laurier University (2019)
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Certificate - Wilfrid Laurier University (2023)
  • Currently working toward becoming a Certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider 

Education

  • Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) - McMaster University 2018
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science - McMaster University 2018
  • Master of Social Work (MSW) - Wilfrid Laurier University 2021

Diagnosed at...

I have no idea. 28? 29? It was definitely 2021, but I’m definitely not doing that math.

In addition to ADHD, I specialize in:

I struggle to say I ‘specialize in’ anything because I find that what I work well in, and what I do best, varies a lot

That said, I have worked a lot in, and felt I excelled in:
  • Crisis work – meeting people in moments of crisis and helping find stabilization and build a plan forward
  • Mental health – especially experiences such as depression, anxiety, C-PTSD, trauma
  • Grief, loss & bereavement work (including life changes and transitions)
  • Relationships & attachment work

I love individual work, I hope to expand into couples’ work in the future. I love (LOVE!) group facilitation and the magic that happens between people. And community (community building or development) work. 

I’m also a proud research and policy nerd.


My ADHD “aha!” moment was:

Am I allowed to share two? Decision fatigue. I’m gonna share two.

One’s a rock-bottom situation, and the other is a success-story situation. 

Rock bottom: Shortly before seeking diagnosis, I was going through a tough time (*cough* understatement *cough*) and I realized that my actions (and sometimes inactions) were sabotaging the most important things in my life.  

For the longest time I was convinced I was somehow choosing this - I must just not be trying hard enough, or must not care enough, and that it was my fault that so much was falling apart… despite the fact that I was trying so hard at everything. I finally realized that what was happening was not a choice, but a very real and very serious condition which was hindering me in many ways.

 This was the realization that ultimately kick started my journey to diagnosis.

Success story: Before I was diagnosed, I barely scraped by in school (both high school and my undergrad). Honestly, school was SO HARD for me, I honestly didn’t believe that I would ever finish (though I did), and in typical ADHD fashion, I pulled good grades despite terrible work habits and leaving everything possible to the last minute. Flash forward a few years, and I was starting to embrace my ADHD identity at the same time I was completing my MSW. 

When I learned I had ADHD, and that this was the culprit making everything so hard, I learned as much as I could as quickly as I could about it: what motivates ADHDers, what strategies have worked for others, that kind of thing. I learned about how we have an ‘interest-based nervous system’ and I used that to make my school more interesting. Long story short: I finished with straight A’s and won the academic gold medal for being one of the top students in my class.

& I cannot overstate this enough: BOTH of these moments are peak ADHD experiences. 

With the wrong tools, it can be a nightmare - and with the right ones, it can be a dream come true. Most days it’s somewhere in the middle, or a bit of both, and it shouldn’t be minimized OR glamourized. But at least it’s never boring. ;) 

Top ~typical therapist~ quote:

Two things can be true at the same time. We can both be grateful for the strengths and miracles that come with our ADHD brains, and, we can grieve and mourn for how hard our experiences have been and will at times still be.

watch krista
on the tedx stage

the work in action ↓

OUR MOST ADHD TRAITS

Or, as we like to call them, 

our ADHD Superlatives

Most Likely To Remember To Bring Everything Out The Door Except Her Keys

Most Likely to Have a Dozen Open Tabs and Lose Track of All of Them

Best at Turning a 5-Minute Task into a 2-Hour Adventure

Most Likely to Forget What They Were Saying Mid-Sentence

Most Creative at Finding New Ways to Postpone Chores

Most Likely to Get Distracted by a Squirrel (or a Shiny Object)

Best at Turning “One Quick Email” into a Full-On Research Expedition

Most Likely to Lose Their Phone While Talking on It

KRISTA

marielle

alison

KRISTA

alison

MARIELLE

marielle

alison

Curious How The Curious Collective Came To Be?

And we wanted to contribute to the cause of making ADHDers feel less alone. 

As late-identified ADHDers, it took a while for us to find — let alone feel like we truly fit into — the neurodivergent community. Something about the years spent questioning, and the late-twenties official diagnoses, and the “am I imagining this?” back-and-forth made us feel like we didn’t quite belong.

Now, we’re on a mission to affirm people who know they have ADHD, people who aren’t yet sure if they “belong” in the ADHD community, and everyone in between.

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

We wanted to create what we wished we'd had.

OUR • ORIGIN • STORY •

THE CURIOUS COLLECTIVE VALUES

Collaboration

Justice

Equity

(Self-) Compassion

Belonging

Safety, as defined by YOU

We also believe that curiosity and creativity equal innovation, and that compassion and community equal empowerment. & Above all else, we’re all about creating the most affirming, safe, and supportive environments. 

Accessibility

Playfulness

Learning 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WORKING WITH NEURODIVERGENT THERAPISTS

Being effortlessly understood.
Never having to apologize for your ADHD.
Getting the tools you need to navigate neurodivergence.
The occasional joke about focus beans. 

Does that sound good to you?

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