Episode
21. ADHD Assessment: What Actually Happens in a Psychiatrist's Appointment (with Dr Brendan Daugherty)
- Podcast
- ADHD Mums
- Published
- Aug 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2018
- Processing state
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Summary
**This episode is general information only and is not medical advice. If any of it applies to you, please talk it through with your own GP or psychiatrist** Have you ever walked out of a psychiatrist's office more confused than when you walked in? Not sure what just happened, whether you got a diagnosis, what you were supposed to ask, or whether the thing you were terrified of — coming across like you were just there for the stimulants — is exactly what you did. For a lot of women getting an ADHD assessment at 40, the appointment itself is the black box. Nobody tells you the order to see a GP, psychologist and psychiatrist in, what happens if your school reports are gone and your parents have died, why they start you on one medication and not another, or what a drug holiday actually is. So this week Jane sat a psychiatrist down and asked him to open the box. Dr Brendan Daugherty walks through the whole thing — the pathway, the assessment, how they choose your first medication, and the one thing that makes these appointments go better. Bring the questions you've been too embarrassed to ask. CHAPTERS 00:00 — Walking out more confused than when you walked in 02:36 — GP, psychologist, psychiatrist — the actual order, and when to skip a step 04:38 — Have the waitlists really improved? A straight answer 05:44 — The two kinds of women who book an assessment — which one are you? 09:50 — 'ADHD is a bit like a shield' — and what's underneath when the medication lifts it 13:19 — 'I'm scared I'll look like I'm drug seeking' — the post Jane sees every week 15:26 — How a psychiatrist spots the woman who's masked her whole life and looks fine 16:56 — No school reports, parents gone — how do you even get diagnosed? (evidence before 12) 19:15 — The squat-rack phone call that diagnosed…