ADHD

As some others have said, look at therapists in your area - it's likely you'll find some that offer online, phone, or video call sessions. Those are your best bet. Avoid platforms like BetterHelp as these are generally a scam and you'd be wasting your money, and probably not getting much in the way of any qualified help.

Just search "therapists [town name]" or "therapists [area name]" and look at their websites/listings to find the ones that do online work.

I'm just across the border from you in Poland and of the ones in my area I'd say probably about half offer some kind of remote sessions, so I imagine it's similar there.

The most important thing is finding a therapist you feel comfortable with - so don't be afraid to spend a long time researching before you choose one, and also - if they don't feel like a good fit after the first session, feel free to try others before you commit to one.

Just find a therapist you can video call with, don’t waste your time on an app

You can find someone in less time than that generally.

BetterHelp is demonstrably a scam, as they make damn sure to remind you it’s not actually therapy and the people there are not necessarily qualified to do therapy.

https://youtu.be/NoGxHWaHZL4

Don't get better help or any app like that. They are all scams and do not keep your identity or what you say safe and secure.

Best thing to do is someone in or around you that does online seasons.

That's what I do, I have a therapist that is from a place around here I trust and is hipa compliant so they won't give your info and whatever you say to anyone

There should be organizations around you that can help you with therapy if your low income for instance I heard volunteers of America have sliding scale based on income including zero Income.

Here's the most recent Privacy Not Included assessment of online therapy options from Mozilla, best of luck!

Source: https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/are-mental-health-apps-better-or-worse-at-privacy-in-2023/

I've heard bad things about BetterHelp but haven't tried it myself. However, I looked into Open Path Collective (another online therapy option) after seeing other people say good things about it. I gave it a try and have been happy with it so far. Just make sure you find a therapist that specializes in ADHD or has ADHD themselves. Them having that experience has made a big difference in them understanding me. Also, wait times depend on the therapist that you choose, but I've been able to get appointments pretty soon with no wait times.

Regarding online therapy specifically, I find that it helps a lot with me being on time. I'm much more likely to be on time for online sessions than in-person sessions due to fewer "barriers" I have to go through to attend the session.

Betterhelp was garbage. Tried it for a bit. Waste of time. They have a pool of not-therapists doing back to back not-therapy sessions with lots of people. It's a sweat shop for social workers or something.

MAYBE it's better than literally nothing. But not by much.

Lifestance should be able to set you up with a local provider in a reasonable amount of time.

Which country are you in?

Amy therapy is OK if it helps you, IMHO. I think it depends more on if the therapist has experience with ADHD and you're able to form a trust relationship. If you don't need physical proximity for that, then it can work.

That said, the type of providers who are hired for those platforms are generally not as good due to low budgets. And most large corporations tend not to treat providers as well as small practices. But sometimes you might find someone just starting out who is actually really good or something like that.

I’ve had good luck with Growtherapy and Headway.

Not sure what your insurance situation is, but I've had a really good experience though Rula. My therapist is great, and we have a biweekly session set up. I generally do it from my work truck.

First off, get on the waiting lists today if you aren't already, before anything else. Therapist churn is a thing, especially at more affordable clinics, and it's better to have options than not once you get started. Even when established at a clinic and you have to move to someone new, they won't necessarily get you to another provider quickly.

As for video calls, I've been in therapy for 10 years. I've done in-person, telephone, and video calls. The best work I've done in therapy has been in the past six months, and it's all been over video call. The mode matters less than the fit, and telehealth gives you access to a lot more providers.

I've never been with a service that records conversations, but I'd avoid the big therapy mills like BetterHelp. Even setting aside the well-documented sketchy behavior aside, I can't imagine they hold onto people for long.

I am so bad at doing stuff on time / arriving at appointment's, that this will fail any therapy where I have to arrive physically

Weirdly enough I end up at the opposite end. Before I have a rapport with someone I will worry way too much about being late, so I'll set an alarm earlier than needed and feel internal pressure to be out the door at a time that can account for absurdly bad traffic and I'll usually end up awkwardly sitting in the waiting room for half an hour. Once I know someone will cut me some slack I will be more relaxed until I actually am late for one, at which point I worry about if I do it again soon after it might look like a habit and I'm temporarily back to super-careful. The most helpful thing a counselor ever did for me was forget to show up for one in our first couple weeks, from there out it felt like I get a mulligan if something goes wrong.

If all I have to do is sit in front of my computer then my brain won't let me feel pressed until a few minutes before, and then sometimes distractions happen.