Find a therapist to help with ADHD

Recent CDC data show that 6% of U.S. adults qualified for an ADHD diagnosis in the previous year.

Data published in both 2005 and 2024 place adult ADHD as the #2 adult psychiatric diagnosis in the U.S.

Despite these rates of adult ADHD, few clinicians are trained in its assessment or treatment.

We need more adult ADHD training in clinical psychiatry, clinical psychology, and related programs.

The most recent data on adult ADHD from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that for the past year, 6% of adults qualified for a diagnosis of ADHD. Lifetime diagnoses were 8%. Half of these adults were diagnosed after age 18 with 61% of these late identified cases being female.1

These numbers are on par with the roughly 6.8% worldwide prevalence of adult ADHD. Critics focus on the rising numbers but in isolation there is a lack of adequate context and reference points.2

A New Look at Adult ADHD Relative to Rates of Depression and Anxiety

In 2005, the U.S. National Comorbidity study results showed that diagnosed depression (6.7%) in the previous year was the most frequent psychiatric diagnosis in adults. The second-most frequent adult diagnosis in the previous year was ADHD at 4.1% (with 4.4% lifetime prevalence).3 Anxiety came in third (3.1%)

Sifting through more recent CDC data on adult diagnoses in the past year showed anxiety as the new most-frequent diagnosis (12.5%), with depression falling to third place (5%). The 6% prevalence mentioned above still has adult ADHD firmly ensconced in second place.4

Who is Able to Diagnose and Treat Adult ADHD?

Although adult ADHD is the second most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis among American adults, very few practicing clinicians or current clinicians-in-training, such as those in graduate school programs for clinical psychology, medical schools, or psychiatric residency training programs, are introduced to adult ADHD as part of the curriculum.

Not to be glib, but treatment of anxiety and depression in mental health training programs is like physicians getting trained in treating the common cold or other such common presentations in medical practice—everybody must learn it.5

Diagnosed but Un-treated, Under-treated, or Ignored

Interview studies of adults with ADHD are replete with accounts of having difficulties finding experienced, capable professionals offering competent diagnostic evaluations. Those lucky enough to clear that first hurdle of an accurate diagnosis then face difficulties finding experienced clinicians offering evidence-based medical and psychosocial treatments.5

It’s not only that adults with ADHD face difficulties finding specialists, but also that they will encounter dismissals of ADHD as a possibility from professionals. Imagine going to a family physician with testing indicating risk for diabetes and learning that not only do they not specialize in identifying or treating it, but that they did not learn about it in medical school, or that they categorically dismiss it as a made-up condition!

Not Enough Psychologists Providing Evidence-Based Care for Adult ADHD

A recent U.S. study examined listings of psychologists from the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, known as PsyPact, which allows credentialed psychologists to provide cross-state telepsychology services in participating states. Results showed that only one out of four listings included any services for adult ADHD, and only 21.3% offered CBT for adult ADHD, the evidence-supported psychosocial treatment for adult ADHD.

Find a therapist to help with ADHD

Conversely, there were nearly triple the options for depression (69.2%) and anxiety (74.0%). Recall that ADHD is the #2 adult psychiatric diagnosis in the US.6

Including Adult ADHD in Psychological and Medical Training Programs

The forthcoming US guidelines for the assessment and treatment of adult ADHD will offer an empirical foundation and an impetus for bringing training programs up to speed with the existing effective diagnostic protocols and evidence-supported medical and non-medical treatments. The dissemination of the guidelines promises to inform current and future generations of clinicians in training about the basics of the assessment and management of ADHD.

It’s my hope that adults with ADHD will be able to receive the same level of care as is afforded to those available for depression and anxiety. But we need more providers of such adult ADHD care now.

1 Staley, B. S. et al. (2024). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis, treatment, and telehealth use in adults—National Center for Health Statistics rapid surveys system, United States, October–November 2023. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report, 73(40), 890-895.

2 Song, P., Zha, M., Yang, Q., Zhang, Y., Li, X., & Rudan, I. (2021). The prevalence of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A global systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Global Health, 11, 04009. doi: 10.7189/jogh.11.04009

3 Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617-627.

4 Norris et al. (2024). CDC National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/earlyrelease202405.pdf

5 Ramsay, R. (in press). Once I get started: The adult ADHD program for turning your intentions into actions. Avery.

6 Rout, M. R., Gaddis, A., Yeguez, C. E., Sibley, M. H., & Groves, N. B. (2026). Disparities in Adult ADHD Care Delivery Among U.S. Telepsychology Providers. Journal of Attention Disorders. Online ahead of print.

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