Emotional Dysregulation in ADHD
For big, fast feelings and the apologies that come after.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationFor big, fast feelings and the apologies that come after.
✓ Same-week ✓ Direct billing ✓ Sliding scale ✓ Licensed therapists
Book a free consultationEvery clinician is registered with a regulatory college — the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW), or the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO).
We want therapy to be financially accessible for everyone. Reduced rates are available case-by-case based on need and availability.
We submit directly to most major insurers, so you don't pay out of pocket upfront.
Our office is in Ottawa. All client records are stored in Canada and handled under PIPEDA and PHIPA.
Therapy is a space to slow down and look at what's underneath. These are some of the patterns people bring into the room.
FOR WHEN SOMETHING FEELS OFF
It's all or nothing, off or full volume. The size of the feeling doesn't match the size of the trigger, and knowing that mid-surge doesn't make it smaller.
Snap, regret, apologize, repeat. Everyone's tired of it, you most of all, not because you don't mean the apologies, but because you keep needing them.
Avoiding hard conversations, muting yourself in meetings, rehearsing calm. Managing everyone's experience of your feelings is a full-time job stacked on top of the feelings themselves.
Emotions in ADHD aren't wrong; they're fast and hard to catch in time. The work is building in a pause: noticing the surge earlier, widening the gap between feeling something and acting on it, and having somewhere for the energy to go that isn't the send button.
The skills side comes from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), which is well suited to exactly this kind of intensity, along with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the interpretations that pour fuel on the surge. The other half of the work is repair and self-respect: cleaning up the moments that get through without beating yourself up over each one.
Context matters too: dysregulation worsens with depletion, so sleep, load, and masking all come into it. If what you're recognizing is specifically about criticism and rejection, our rejection sensitivity page looks at that pattern on its own.
Email, phone, or fill out our booking form. There's no script and no pressure. You can share as much or as little as you want.
A real person, not a bot, will reply as soon as we can with a few options for a free 15-minute consultation.
We listen. You ask questions. No paperwork, no obligation. If we're not the right match, we'll point you toward someone who might be.
Direct billing where possible. Evening and weekend availability. Virtual or in-person in Ottawa.
Sessions are 50 minutes in length. Rates vary by therapist and are confirmed during your free consultation. We accept e-transfer and credit cards, and direct-bill most insurers.
Sliding-scale spots are available based on need. Ask during your free consultation.
Same 50-minute format, structured for two participants and shared concerns.
Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Social Worker services are covered by most extended health plans in Canada. We recommend confirming your specific coverage before your first paid session. Sun Life, Manulife, Canada Life, Green Shield, and most major insurers include coverage.
We direct-bill where your insurer allows it. Otherwise, you pay at the time of session and submit the receipt for reimbursement.
Every session generates a receipt listing the provider's license number, suitable for insurance reimbursement.
In-person sessions are held at our Ottawa office. Virtual sessions use a secure, PIPEDA-compliant video platform. You can switch between the two.
We ask for 24 hours notice on cancellations. Late cancellations and no-shows are charged the full session fee.
After the free 15-minute consultation, your first paid session is intake-focused. Bring questions, anything you have already tried, and any goals you have in mind.
QUESTIONS
It's broader. Anger is one channel, but the same fast, under-buffered intensity shows up as hurt, frustration, excitement, and shame. The work is regulation across the board, plus repair for the moments that get through, rather than suppressing one emotion.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills are practical techniques for handling intense emotion: riding out surges without acting on them, staying present, and keeping relationships intact during hard moments. We draw on them selectively, fitted to ADHD-style intensity.
Because mid-surge, the reasoning parts of the brain are getting less say; that's the physiology of a flood. Skills get built and practised outside the hard moments so that a version of them is available during, starting with noticing the surge earlier in its arc.
No. You can book directly with a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker without a doctor's referral. Some insurance plans ask for one before reimbursing, so it is worth checking your policy.
Psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker is not covered by OHIP. Many extended health and workplace benefit plans cover it, though plans differ on which credentials they reimburse. Check whether yours covers RP, RSW, or both.
Yes. Our therapists offer secure video sessions to clients anywhere in Ontario, and many people mix virtual and in-person visits depending on the week. Everything discussed stays confidential either way.
Therapy is a longer-term relationship. If you're in acute distress, please reach the services below first. They are free, confidential, and available right now.
