ADHD medication & psychiatry referrals

Choosing a psychologist or psychiatrist/paediatrician assessment

You have the option of choosing to have your ADHD assessment with a psychologist, with a psychiatrist, or with a paediatrician (for children and teenagers). If you are interested in trying ADHD medication, you can see your GP and get a referral straight to a psychiatrist or paediatrician who specializes in ADHD. As psychiatrists and paediatricians are medical doctors, they can assess you for ADHD and prescribe ADHD medication if they think it is medically needed.​​

​

As psychologists, we can assess and diagnose ADHD, but we cannot prescribe medication. Sometimes, paediatricians ask families to obtain an assessment and report from a psychologist before they will confirm a diagnosis of ADHD in a child or teenager and prescribe medication. This is not common practice for adult clients who see psychiatrists. Typically, psychiatrists will conduct their own assessment of ADHD before prescribing medication.

​​

Are our reports 'accepted' by psychiatrists?

A frequently asked question we receive from clients is whether our reports are 'accepted' by psychiatrists. While our reports are 'accepted' by psychiatrists as evidence, they will generally still want to conduct their own assessment. This is because ADHD stimulant medications are highly restricted medications - they are classified by the Australian government as Schedule 8 restricted substances. This is the highest restriction rating the government can give to a legal drug. Medications are classified as Schedule 8 restricted substances when they have a higher risk of abuse (or addiction) than other medications. The Schedule 8 classification means that even if a client has an ADHD report written by a psychologist, a psychiatrist will need to undertake due diligence to make sure they agree with the ADHD diagnosis before they prescribe a highly restricted medication. Every psychiatrist has their own process for assessments. Sometimes, a report from a psychologist may make a psychiatrist's assessment shorter, but we cannot guarantee that this will be the case, as a psychiatrist needs to ensure they are satisfied with the diagnosis before they prescribe medication. A good place to start is to speak to your GP and ask what psychiatrists they refer to and what their assessment process is.

​​

Why would someone choose an ADHD assessment with a psychologist?

Some of our adult clients wish to have an ADHD assessment conducted by a psychologist, either before seeing a psychiatrist or instead of seeing a psychiatrist. Some of the reasons people choose to have their ADHD assessment with a psychologist are:

• They are not interested in trying ADHD medication and would like the assessment to better understand themselves and their neurotype.

• To have written documentation of their ADHD neurotype and what criteria they meet or don't meet. It is not typical for psychiatrists to write full, comprehensive reports like psychologists do. Written reports can be provided to schools or workplaces to request accommodations or adjustments.

• Some of our clients have told us that an assessment with a psychologist feels more holistic or comprehensive. Our reports are written from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective, and many people feel validated by having their experiences and difficulties documented in a report. 

• Sometimes, psychiatrists do not appear to have told their clients that they have been officially confirmed to be an ADHDer (or diagnosed with ADHD) despite prescribing ADHD medication to them. Rest assured that if a medical doctor has prescribed you a highly restricted Schedule 8 medication, they have confirmed that you have a diagnosis of ADHD (or at least, a provisional diagnosis where they prescribe the medication to see how you respond).