ADHD-Affirming Therapy in Kingston, ON
Your brain isn't broken. Most of the systems around you just weren't built for you.
15 minute phone call • No pressure • Let's see if we're a good fit
Curious about what an actual first session looks like? Here's exactly what to expect.→
ADHD Therapy That Goes Beyond Productivity
Understanding the shame, masking, and exhaustion that can come with ADHD, and building a life that works with your brain instead of against it.
By the time most of my clients with ADHD get to therapy, they've already tried the planner, the app, the color-coded calendar, the productivity system a friend swore by. Some of it helped, for a little while. None of it touched the exhaustion underneath: the years of being called lazy, scattered, too much, not enough, before anyone thought to ask what was actually going on.
ADHD isn't just a focus issue. It's rejection sensitivity that makes feedback feel unbearable. It's the shame spiral after forgetting something that felt like it should've been easy to recall. It's masking so well at work that no one believes you when you say you're struggling. Most of the coping strategies you've built were never really about ADHD, they were about surviving other people's reactions to it.
Therapy here isn't about fixing your attention. It's about understanding how your brain actually works, and building a life that works with it instead of constantly fighting it.
Victoria Brassard Counselling offers ADHD-affirming therapy in Kingston, in-person downtown and virtually across Ontario.
Meet Your ADHD Therapist in Kingston, Ontario
I'm Victoria Brassard-Monahan, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), practising under the clinical supervision of Kim Lawrence (BScH, MSW, RSW). I run a solo practice out of downtown Kingston, and I'm queer and neurodivergent myself, which matters here, because it means you're not explaining your brain to someone who's only read about it.
My approach is relational and emotionally focused, with narrative therapy and parts work woven in. I'm not a therapist who hands out worksheets and sends you home with homework. Most of the real work happens in the room, in the moment, which tends to suit ADHD brains a lot better than a workbook does. Clients often tell me it feels like getting emerging from a fog: the thing you've been circling finally gets said out loud. And then, somehow, that lands as relief instead of judgment.
I work with adults 18+, in person in downtown Kingston or virtually anywhere in Ontario, and I'm currently accepting new clients, no waitlist.
One thing worth being upfront about: as a Registered Psychotherapist, I can't provide a formal ADHD diagnosis. I work with clients who are diagnosed, self-identified, or still figuring that out, and if a formal assessment would help you, I can point you toward where to get one, but the therapy itself doesn't require it.
ADHD-affirming therapy might be for you if this sounds familiar…
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Executive function isn't the whole story
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Starting ten things and finishing none of them, then feeling like a failure about it
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Time blindness that turns "I'll leave in five minutes" into finally getting out the door an hour later
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Burning out from trying to seem "normal" at work or in relationships
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Rejection and criticism hit harder for you
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Replaying a piece of feedback for days after it was said
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Avoiding tasks entirely out of fear of doing them wrong
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A lifetime of being told you're too sensitive, too much, or not trying hard enough
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You've built your whole identity around compensating
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Overachieving to prove the "lazy" label wrong
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Difficulty resting without guilt, even when you're depleted
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Wondering who you'd be if you weren't constantly managing your brain for other people's comfort
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As a neurodivergent therapist in Kingston, I don't treat ADHD as something to be managed into invisibility. I help clients understand how their brain works, unlearn the shame that got layered on top of it, and build a life that doesn't require constant self-suppression.
What working together looks like
ADHD-affirming therapy isn't ADHD coaching. Here's how we build your path forward.
In your first session, we talk about where ADHD shows up in your life right now, and where shame has quietly attached itself to normal parts of how your brain works.
Over the next few sessions, we separate the two: what's actually a functional challenge worth building support around, and what's just internalized criticism you've been carrying since childhood.
As therapy continues, you build tools that fit how your brain actually operates, instead of borrowing systems built for neurotypical brains that were never going to stick.
With consistent support, ADHD-affirming therapy helps you stop measuring yourself against a standard that was never designed for you.
Not ready to book yet? See what to expect in your first session. →
Areas I Provide ADHD Therapy For
In person, in downtown Kingston at 20 Montreal Street #2, Kingston, ON K7L 3G6. Clients regularly come in from the surrounding area, including:
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Kingston
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Gananoque
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Napanee
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Amherstview
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Odessa
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Bath
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Verona
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Sydenham
Virtually, anywhere in Ontario. If you're outside Kingston, or you're in the city but a downtown drive during a low-focus week feels like one more thing you don't have the bandwidth for, virtual sessions are the same therapy, same approach, no commute.
Sessions run Monday to Friday during the day; I don't currently offer evenings or weekends. If timing is a barrier, mention it in your consultation call and we'll figure out what's workable.
Fequently Asked Questions about Therapy For ADHD
Do I need a diagnosis to start?
No. Some clients arrive with a formal diagnosis, some are self-diagnosed, some just suspect it and have never looked into it. As a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), I can't provide the diagnostic assessment itself, but none of that is a requirement for the work we'd do together. If getting an official diagnosis matters to you, we can talk about where to get one.
What does a session actually look like?
Less structured than you might expect. I'm not assigning trackers or productivity systems; you've likely already tried those. Sessions are relational: we follow what's actually happening for you in the moment, including the stuff that's hard to say out loud anywhere else.
Is this covered by insurance?
I don't bill insurers directly, but you'll get a receipt after every session with what most insurers need to process a claim. Worth double-checking with your provider that they cover services from a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) specifically; some plans (student plans especially) only cover certain designations.
How much does it cost, and how often would we meet?
Individual sessions are $170 (GST/HST exempt). Most clients start weekly or every two weeks, and we reassess around the six-week mark to see what's actually working; that's also where scheduling and cost get revisited if they need to.
How long until this actually helps?
Genuinely varies, but most clients notice a real shift somewhere between 6 and 12 sessions. Some things move faster, some take longer to untangle, especially the parts of ADHD that are less about learning to accommodate yourself, and more about years of learned shame.
What's the free consultation call for?
It's 15 minutes, by phone, and it's not a session. You tell me what's going on, I tell you how I work, and we both get a read on fit before anyone commits to anything.
A safe, inclusive space for healing in Downtown Kingston.
My approach combines Emotionally Focused Therapy, narrative therapy, and parts work, all grounded in a humanistic, neurodivergent-affirming lens. As a queer and neurodivergent practitioner myself, I bring lived understanding to this work, not just clinical training.
In-person office | 20 Montreal Street #2, Kingston, ON
Virtual care available across Ontario
Covered by most Registered Psychotherapist insurance benefits
Ready to take the next step?
You don't need a formal diagnosis to start, and you won't need to justify why your brain deserves support. Start with a free 15-minute consultation.