ADHD Therapy Vancouver — Counselling, Neurofeedback & Coaching for ADHD

ADHD Therapy Vancouver — Counselling, Neurofeedback & Coaching for ADHD

Talk to Dr. Samuel directly — your first 20 minutes are free.

Most people who reach out here don’t feel ready to talk on the phone. Start whichever way feels safest.

Text me what’s going on

The message is already written — just press send. I reply personally: usually within a few hours, always within 24.

Or have me call you — you pick the time →

No forms, no gatekeepers, no obligation. English or فارسی.

Call for a Free 20-Minute Consult — 6047210604

Dr. Samuel offers evidence-based ADHD treatment in Vancouver combining psychotherapy, neurofeedback, and practical coaching strategies. Whether you are newly diagnosed, managing ADHD without medication, or looking for an adjunct to your current treatment, sessions are tailored to your specific neurological profile. Farsi and English available.

ADHD in Adults — More Than Just “Can’t Focus”

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting executive function, emotional regulation, working memory, and impulse control — not just attention. For many adults, especially those diagnosed later in life, ADHD has shaped their entire experience of school, relationships, work, and self-worth in ways they are only beginning to understand.

Common presentations in adults include difficulty starting tasks, losing track of time, emotional dysregulation, rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD), impulsive decision-making, and chronic underperformance relative to their intelligence and effort. Many adults with undiagnosed ADHD have spent decades being told they are lazy, disorganized, or not living up to their potential.

ADHD Treatment Approaches at Dr. Samuel’s Practice

Neurofeedback for ADHD — Neurofeedback is one of the most researched non-medication interventions for ADHD, with over 40 randomized controlled trials supporting its effectiveness. It targets the excess slow-wave (theta) brain activity associated with inattention and builds sustained attention capacity over a course of sessions. See: Neurofeedback Therapy Vancouver and the full Neurofeedback Research Evidence.

CBT for ADHD — Cognitive Behavioural Therapy adapted for ADHD addresses the unhelpful thought patterns and avoidance behaviours that develop around ADHD symptoms. It builds practical systems for time management, task initiation, and reducing shame.

Individual assessment — Before beginning neurofeedback, Dr. Samuel reviews your symptom history, sleep, focus and attention patterns to build a training plan that fits your presentation. ADHD is not uniform, so the protocol is targeted rather than one-size-fits-all.

Psychoeducation and coaching — Understanding how your ADHD brain actually works removes the shame and self-blame that accumulates over years of struggling. Dr. Samuel works with clients to build systems, routines, and accommodations that work with their neurology rather than against it.

ADHD and Emotional Dysregulation

Emotional dysregulation — particularly rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD) — is one of the most disabling but least-discussed aspects of ADHD. RSD is an intense emotional response (shame, rage, withdrawal) triggered by perceived criticism or rejection, which can derail relationships, careers, and self-esteem. Dr. Samuel addresses emotional dysregulation directly, using a combination of psychotherapy, somatic approaches, and neurofeedback targeting the prefrontal-limbic circuits involved.

ADHD in the Iranian-Canadian Community

ADHD is frequently undiagnosed or misunderstood within Iranian and Middle Eastern communities, where academic and professional achievement is highly valued and struggles with focus or organization may be attributed to laziness or lack of discipline rather than a neurological difference. Dr. Samuel offers ADHD assessment and treatment in Farsi, with deep cultural understanding of the specific shame and family dynamics that Iranian-Canadian clients often bring to this work.

See also: Farsi Therapist Vancouver | Counselling for the Iranian-Canadian Community

Book an ADHD Consultation in Vancouver

Start with a free 20-minute consultation to discuss your ADHD history, your treatment goals, and whether neurofeedback, psychotherapy, or a combined approach is right for you.

Call or text: 6047210604
Email: [email protected]
Location: Suite 1300, 1500 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC (downtown)
Sessions 7 days a week, 9am–9pm. In-person and online options available.

Further Reading

Related resources: neurofeedback research evidence, neurofeedback FAQs, individual therapy. Blog: neurofeedback for ADHD and focus. For Farsi-speaking clients: Farsi therapist Vancouver.

25+
years clinical
Doctorate
LMCC · FSMB verified
2
languages — EN · فارسی
3
countries · frontline trauma
Therapy+
neurofeedback, one practice

Who you’re talking to

I’m Samuel Ezzatilord, PhD, RCC, CCC, LMCC. Over 25 years I’ve worked with trauma, anxiety, and relationships — from Red Crescent refugee camps and veterans’ clinics to community mental health here in Vancouver. I won’t be shocked by what you bring me, and I won’t rush you.

As an Iranian-Canadian clinician working in both English and Farsi, I understand the weight of آبرو, the pull between cultures, and how hard it can be to say “I need help” out loud. We go at your pace, find what’s really driving things, and work through it together.

My full story →

And no — your problem doesn’t need to be a crisis to belong here. Most of the people Samuel sees are simply tired, stuck, or quietly carrying something heavy.

What happens when you call?

1
You call or text.

Dr. Samuel answers personally. No secretary, no forms, no gatekeeping.

2
You talk — 20 minutes, free.

Ask anything: fees, insurance, whether this approach fits you. Completely confidential.

3
You decide.

Book a first session — or don’t. Either way you leave with clarity and zero obligation.

Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available.

Frequently Asked Questions — ADHD Therapy in Vancouver

Do I need a formal ADHD diagnosis before starting therapy?

No. Many adults start with a counselling assessment of how attention, time, emotion and motivation are actually working in their life, and that is enough to begin. If a formal diagnosis or a medication review would help, Samuel coordinates with your family doctor or a psychiatrist and says so plainly. Samuel Ezzatilord, PhD, RCC, CCC, LMCC, does not require a label to start the work.

What does ADHD therapy for adults actually involve?

Three layers, built in order: ADHD-specific cognitive-behavioural counselling for the avoidance, procrastination and self-criticism most adults have accumulated by 30; external coping systems engineered so they do not depend on the working memory ADHD strains; and neurofeedback training alongside, giving attention networks repeated real-time practice. Samuel laid the whole plan out in Adult ADHD Treatment Without Medication in Vancouver.

Can ADHD be treated without medication?

Yes, and for many adults it has to be — because of side effects, a heart condition, pregnancy, or a prescriber’s caution. Cognitive-behavioural programs built for adult ADHD outperform control conditions in trials with a moderate effect; coping systems are what most adults notice first; neurofeedback training is a reasonable added layer, offered honestly as one component rather than a cure. Nothing here closes the door to medication later.

What if I’m already on medication and it only half-works?

That is one of the most common reasons adults come. Stimulants often cover the workday and hand the evening, the relationships and the emotional side back unchanged. This plan stacks with medication: systems, counselling and neurofeedback training cover what the pill never touched, in coordination with your prescriber.

How many sessions does ADHD therapy take?

The counselling and coping-systems layer usually takes shape over 8 to 12 weekly sessions; a neurofeedback course, where included, typically runs 20 to 40 sessions, two or three a week at the start. Length is agreed after the first meeting and reviewed openly as you go.

Is ADHD therapy covered by extended health benefits in BC?

Registered Clinical Counsellor sessions are covered by most extended health plans and can be direct-billed. Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available. Neurofeedback training is offered as part of a counselling plan; Samuel goes through your specific coverage on the free call.

Does Samuel do ADHD assessments?

Samuel provides a counselling assessment of how ADHD is showing up in your daily functioning, which is what treatment planning needs. Formal diagnostic assessment for medication or accommodations is done by a medical doctor or psychologist; Samuel coordinates with them and will tell you when that is the sensible next step.

Is ADHD therapy available in Farsi?

Yes — every part of the plan, from counselling and systems-building to neurofeedback training, is available in Farsi as well as English, with an understanding of the Iranian-Canadian context, where ADHD has often been called ‘بی‌نظمی’ or ‘تنبلی’ for years. Naming the pattern correctly is the first relief. جلسات به فارسی برگزار می‌شود.

Where are ADHD sessions held?

Counselling in person at 1300–1500 West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver or by secure video anywhere in British Columbia; neurofeedback training in person only. Evening and weekend appointments are available.

How do I start?

With a free 20-minute phone call directly with Samuel — no receptionist, no intake form. Call or WhatsApp 604-721-0604, or text a single line and he will call you back within a day. He will tell you honestly whether this plan fits and, if not, point you somewhere better.

More questions about adult ADHD therapy in Vancouver

Why does ‘just try harder’ keep failing adults with ADHD?
Because effort is not the missing ingredient. Adult ADHD is a difference in executive functioning — working memory, sustained attention, task initiation, time perception, and the regulation of emotion and motivation. Telling someone with a working-memory bottleneck to remember to check their planner asks the impaired system to supervise itself. The fix is systems that fire automatically, not more willpower.
What are the coping systems that actually hold up?
The ones that move work out of your head and into the environment: one capture point for every task, a visible weekly plan you can see across the room, time-boxing with a physical timer, a ‘launch pad’ by the door for keys and documents, and body-doubling — working in someone else’s presence — for tasks you keep circling. Systems that need you to remember to use them are discarded; systems that fire automatically stay.
What is ADHD emotional dysregulation, and can therapy help?
The flooding that turns a small critique into a bad week, the irritability that arrives before the words, the shame spiral after a missed deadline. It is part of ADHD, not a character flaw, and it responds well to counselling — IFS for the self-critical parts, CBT for the loop, and neurofeedback training for the physiological reactivity.
What is rejection sensitivity in ADHD?
An intense, fast reaction to perceived criticism or rejection — often out of proportion, often followed by withdrawal or anger. It is common in adults with ADHD and usually has a long history of ‘you’re so smart, why can’t you just…’. Counselling works on both the reaction and the history behind it.
Is it possible I have ADHD if I was never diagnosed as a child?
Yes — especially if you were quiet, capable, or a girl, and compensated with late nights and last-minute heroics that worked in your twenties and stopped working when a mortgage, a partner, a child or a management role arrived. Samuel wrote about that first year after a late diagnosis in Diagnosed with ADHD at 35?
Does ADHD look different in women?
Often. Inattentive presentation, internalised restlessness, anxiety and perfectionism that mask the ADHD, and a diagnosis that arrives after a child’s diagnosis or after burnout. The treatment plan is the same; the recognition is later and the self-blame is usually heavier.
Can ADHD therapy help my relationship?
Yes, and it often should. When ADHD has turned one partner into the household’s executive function, resentment builds on both sides. Samuel treats the ADHD and, when the couple wants it, integrates Gottman-based couples sessions into the plan. See couples and family therapy.
What about ADHD with anxiety or depression?
They travel together more often than not — years of missed deadlines and criticism produce anxiety and low mood in their own right. Samuel treats them as one picture rather than three referrals, and his doctorate-level understanding of medication and sleep helps when the interactions are complicated.
How does neurofeedback training fit into ADHD therapy — and what does the research say?
It runs alongside counselling from about week three, giving attention networks real-time practice; sessions are around 30 minutes and non-invasive. The evidence is mixed: a 2019 review found durable gains, a larger 2024 meta-analysis found no significant effect on the strictest ratings, and CADDRA lists it as needing further research. Samuel offers it as one component, never a stand-alone cure. See what a full course looks like week by week.
Can students and young adults get ADHD therapy here?
Yes. University students and young adults are a large part of the ADHD work — the structure of school falls away and the compensations stop working. Sessions are by video across BC or in person downtown, with evening times that fit around classes.
Does ADHD therapy help with procrastination?
It is one of its main targets. Procrastination in ADHD is usually fear of doing it badly plus a task-initiation problem, not laziness. The work addresses both: the shame underneath, and concrete starting rituals that do not rely on motivation.
What happens in the first ADHD session?
A map of your actual day — not the ideal one. Where time evaporates, which tasks are chronically avoided, what happens in the body before avoidance, and which relationships are absorbing the fallout. For many adults it is the first time anyone has treated their ADHD as a pattern rather than a character flaw.
Is there homework between ADHD sessions?
Yes, but small: one system installed and tested against a real workweek before the next is added. Anything that requires you to remember to do it is designed out.
Can you help with ADHD and sleep?
Yes. Delayed sleep, racing thoughts at night and the 11 p.m. catch-up habit are part of the ADHD picture, and sleep debt worsens attention the next day. Samuel’s background in the physiology of sleep and medication means timing, routine and any medication effects are addressed together with your prescriber.
Can ADHD therapy be done online?
The counselling and coping-systems work, yes — secure video across BC works well and many clients prefer it. Neurofeedback training is in person at the downtown Vancouver office.
How is ADHD understood in the Iranian-Canadian community, and does that matter?
Many Iranian-Canadian adults were told for years they were disorganised or lazy; the word ADHD arrived late, if at all, and often via a child’s diagnosis. Samuel runs the plan in Farsi with an understanding of that history and of the family expectations around it.
Is ADHD coaching different from ADHD therapy?
Coaching builds systems and accountability; therapy also treats the emotional layer — the shame, anxiety and relationship strain — that stops adults using the systems they already know. Samuel’s plan includes both, plus neurofeedback training, under one roof.
How is Samuel’s ADHD work different?
Samuel Ezzatilord, PhD, RCC, CCC, LMCC, combines ADHD-specific counselling, IFS for the inner critic, neurofeedback training, and 25 years of trauma-informed practice — because adults with ADHD arrive with a nervous system braced for the next failure, and lowering that bracing is what makes the skills stick. He answers his own phone, in English or Farsi.
Where can I read more before I call?
Start with Adult ADHD Treatment Without Medication, then Neurofeedback therapy in Vancouver. Then call or WhatsApp 604-721-0604 for the free 20-minute conversation.
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[email protected]

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