ADHD assessment and diagnosis by psychologist
Edited to add: I live in Victoria.
I’ve recently been diagnosed with AuDHD (Autism and ADHD) by a psychologist who specifically advertises her business as Autism and ADHD assessments. In the initial discussion I had with her, I asked her psychiatrists were able to prescribe meds based on an assessment and diagnosis from a psychologist. She told me that in her experience, psychologists were happy to prescribe because of how thorough her report is.
The assessment took a total of around 6 hours across three appointments and my husband had to complete a questionnaire about me too. The report I received back is very detailed, however the recommendations for managing my ADHD were very general and everything I’ve been doing to look after myself anyway. I had an appointment with GP today so I could have a referral to a psychiatrist to discuss stimulant medication, and my GP advised me the psychiatrist would have to first assess and diagnose me in order to prescribe meds, and that there’s a ‘substantial’ cost involved. I’m now wondering what the hell I paid $3800 (no rebates) for the combined assessment for, and why I wasted months of my life getting this assessment if I need to go through this all over again with a psychiatrist. I’m feeling shattered. I’ve recently been made redundant and don’t have money to pay for another assessment. Has anyone had similar experiences?