ADHD: Private clinics exposed by BBC undercover investigation

I've found this unsettling in various ways including the obvious one of questioning my ASD diagnosis.

This was disturbing too from the BBC article:

When I later visited the address listed on Harley Psychiatrists' website, I was told over the intercom that there were no psychiatrists on site. Harley later told us it has routinely seen patients at that location, even though it doesn't have a permanent clinic on the site.

but their site says:

Our main clinic is located at 23 Harley Street, London, W1G 9QN

I looked up the 2 clinicians who diagnosed me and I am pretty certain that previously their names on their website led to biographies (as is the case with some others there) but they no longer do.

It's all rather troubling.

I've found myself looking back on my diagnosis paperwork today.

I did at the time feel that the letter received by my GP with a report of my diagnosis was briefer than I had anticipated and one of the 2 interviews I had online did seem rather rushed.

If someone feels they benefit from ADHD medication, we should let them have ADHD medication. Same with autistic accommodations. The gatekeeping is ridiculous and leads to long waiting lists and people struggling.

Yes - I couldn't agree more.

This sort of 'sting operation' is essentially fraudulent, the reporter is acting in bad faith. People who go out of their way to get assessed for any neurodivergence are almost always badly affected by their traits, that is why they are seeking confirmation or clarification. For any clinician, this would be taken as an understood precondition. However, prescribing drugs without a full investigation of the general health of the patient is indefensible.

I would like to know the details of how the 'NHS' assessment was set up. Of the reporter, the article says that, "...he didn't tell the private clinics the real reason he'd booked the appointment." This suggests that the NHS clinician was informed about the nature of the sting, which the photograph of the reporter and the NHS clinician would tend to support, in which case the clinicians were not working on a even 'playing field'. It all looks rather sleazy.

Frankly the BBC have been really irresponsible here- this is potentially going to hurt a lot of people with ADHD who have a private diagnosis, either due to self-doubt or due to others dismissing their struggles as 'not a REAL diagnosis'.

There's a good ongoing thread on Twitter about this, written by a neuroscientist who has some serious concerns about the situation: twitter.com/.../1658113052691124226

You were also paying for an hour of the clinician reading through and assessing your own and supporting histories of traits and experiences. Personally, I think observation by a clinician is of very dubious worth, when applied to adults who may have perfected masking techniques over many years

This news has completely thrown me off balance. I had my ASD diagnosis through Psychiatry UK in February following an hour-long online assessment.

Even though Psychistry UK weren’t one of the clinics investigated, the report and the discussion of how ineffective the online assessments were (all of which were longer than mine) has left me not knowing what to believe anymore. I was already having doubts about my diagnosis and now I just don’t know what to do. 

The fact that there's still a complete misunderstanding of Autism is enough for me to be apprehensive about any of the Spectrum "orderings". ADHD and Autism have 2 very fundamental things in common. Given this, I do wonder if one can be 'both' as the overlap is enough to throw confusion but the polarities are really important.

I'm absolutely certain I would've been diagnosed ADD when young, and recall thinking this around 20. The key is in the potential: An autistic will grow to thrive in being helped to focus on one thing at a time, while ADHD will thrive with multi-tasking. There are several other polarities to help individuals grow into themselves. Misdiagnosing Autistic as AuDHD could be unhelpful to their well-being. 

...and the same way I did about Colon cancer for most of 2021...unstoppable thinking brains that are ever alert are exhausting Shard.

Sorry that this news has unbalanced you, understandable. Though hopefully the autism assessments were more robust. The '20 billion TikTok searches' bit ties in with my Trends thread of the weekend. So that's re-werirded me out a bit too. But then many people will be searching for a friend or family member or just curious or have a passing whim. Same way as I did about 'Kidney disease' last night - simply due to what was probably salt bloat!

bit shocking and worrying. I sent the link to my cousin as she paid to have a private assesment from a 'London psychologist', I don't know which one tho, as was told she had ADHD and prescribed some pretty heavy drugs

"Life ain't all sits and giggles"!

Always a curve ball from somewhere to mess with one's elastic!

Yes.

I do feel 'a little jolted'

Gosh.  I need to think about this news for a while.  I don't think it is wholly a surprise to me.  Need to think.  Thank you for sharing Debbie.  I could imagine you feel a little 'jolted'?.....weird to see the company names in the news for you?