James Sharkey

Overwhelmed, scattered, stuck in cycles of anxiety and procrastination. Losing track of time, riding emotional highs and lows, struggling to quiet your mind — and not knowing why. These patterns can be linked to ADHD, and in adults they frequently go unrecognized for years. What builds up in that time isn't just difficulty with focus and follow-through, but criticism, self-doubt, and anxiety that never quite got resolved. The adults I work with are often highly capable people who've built impressive lives, but carry a quiet exhaustion from working twice as hard just to keep up. They mask well in public and struggle privately.

My approach integrates evidence-based therapies that address trauma, neurodiversity, and the unique challenges of adulthood. A core part of this work is EMDR, a model built on the understanding that your brain has a built-in system for healing — linking difficult or traumatic memories to your adaptive memory network for nervous system healing and cognitive restructuring. I tailor the pace and structure of treatment to what actually helps you, not a one-size-fits-all model, and I see therapy as collaborative: you bring your lived experience, I bring clinical guidance, and together we figure out what's underneath the patterns that brought you in. I also welcome collaboration with medical providers throughout the process, since ADHD and trauma care often benefit from a coordinated team.

Our first session is a chance for me to get to know you — your challenges, but also your values, identity, and what matters to you. Opening up isn't easy, especially if past experiences have left you feeling judged or misunderstood. There's no pressure to share more than you're ready for; we'll go at your pace and build trust from there.

As we get further into the work, it helps to know that your brain already has a natural ability to heal from difficult experiences — sometimes it just needs a little support getting unstuck.