
If you have ADHD
every day can be a battle.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
With wisdom, humor and plenty of empathy,
Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD
will help you learn how to move past pain and shame
toward a future of possibility, balance and joy.
If you have
ADHD
every day can be
a battle.
It doesn’t have to
be that way.
With wisdom, humor and plenty of empathy,
Focused Forward: Navigating the Storms of Adult ADHD
will help you learn how to move past pain and shame toward a future of possibility, balance and joy.
Spoiler Alert.
If you read Focused Forward you might just:
Find ways to the thrive with your ADHD
Start building a life that you love
Stop pissing off your loved ones (so much)!
Spoiler Alert.
If you read Focused Forward you might just:
with your ADHD
that you love
your loved ones (so much)
NAVIGATING
the storms of
Adult ADHD
If you have ADHD, every day can be a battle. You fight to stay in control. To meet your obligations. To not screw up. But what you might not know about–what’s even more damaging–is the constant, corrosive emotional stress of a lifetime of wondering what the hell is wrong with you.
In Focused Forward, author James Ochoa, LPC, tackles the fallout from ADHD–a PTSD-like condition he calls the Emotional Distress Syndrome. With the practical, proven guidance of someone who’s been there, he helps readers:
-
Understand the link between ADHD and emotional distress
-
Master essential coping skills
-
Construct an Emotional Safe Place
-
Recruit a Mental Support Group
With wisdom, humor and plenty of empathy, Focused Forward will help you move past the pain and shame toward a future of possibility, balance and joy.

NAVIGATING
the storms of
Adult ADHD
If you have ADHD, every day can be a battle. You fight to stay in control. To meet your obligations. To not screw up. But what you might not know about–what’s even more damaging–is the constant, corrosive emotional stress of a lifetime of wondering what the hell is wrong with you.
In Focused Forward, author James Ochoa, LPC, tackles the fallout from ADHD–a PTSD-like condition he calls the Emotional Distress Syndrome. With the practical, proven guidance of someone who’s been there, he helps readers:
-
Understand the link between ADHD and emotional distress
-
Master essential coping skills
-
Construct an Emotional Safe Place
-
Recruit a Mental Support Group
With wisdom, humor and plenty of empathy, Focused Forward will help you move past the pain and shame toward a future of possibility, balance and joy.
Insightful and plain spoken, this book goes to the heart of what can be the crippling self-doubt and self-sabotage of adult ADHD.
K.V. | Business Development Professional
Insightful and plain spoken, this book goes to the heart of what can be the crippling self-doubt and self-sabotage of adult ADHD.
K.V. | Business Development Professional
Hey there!
I’m James Ochoa.
I’m a native Texan and Licensed Professional Counselor, a therapist, writer and speaker. I am constantly investigating the conundrums, challenges and rewards of adult ADHD—all of which I’ve experienced first-hand, being a diagnosed “ADHD-er” myself.
My personal brand of therapy is uniquely empathetic and often transformative for my clients who I see in group and private sessions and offers trainings for my peers in the mental health world.

Hey there!
I’m James Ochoa.

I’m a native Texan and Licensed Professional Counselor, a therapist, writer and speaker. I am constantly investigating the conundrums, challenges and rewards of adult ADHD—all of which I’ve experienced first-hand, being a diagnosed “ADHD-er” myself.
My personal brand of therapy is uniquely empathetic and often transformative for my clients who I see in group and private sessions and offers trainings for my peers in the mental health world.
Living with ADHD produces its own chronic, all-encompassing, emotional stress UNTIL you learn to deal with it.
I call it the Emotional Distress Syndrome (EDS) of ADHD.
Thirty three years as a professional specializing in ADHD have shown me that I’m not alone in living with this pervasive sense of dread and stress.
Living with ADHD produces its own chronic, all-encompassing, emotional stress UNTIL you learn to deal with it.
I call it the Emotional Distress Syndrome (EDS) of ADHD.
Thirty three years as a professional specializing in ADHD have shown me that I’m not alone in living with this pervasive sense of dread and stress.
Some Other Shiny Things From James
The Complex | Seasons 1 & 2
Written by Robin Chotzinoff and Jules Ochoa Produced by Jules Ochoa/Jerryrigged Studio
The Complex is a genre-bending audio drama set in an apartment building full of fictional adults with ADHD — all of them in therapy with the very real ADHD therapist James Ochoa — who plays himself. Voiced by some of the finest actors in Austin, Texas, The Complex features captivating, creative storylines as well as “afterthoughts” episodes, in which Ochoa and his son Jules discuss aspects of ADHD in depth.
Tune in for the drama, stay for the ADHD insight!
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean or Stitcher
Informed and inspired by Focused Forward.
ADHD Town Hall | 6 Virtual Meetings | $150
Let’s say you’re a citizen of adult ADHD Town. Maybe you’ve read Focused Forward or listened to The Complex, and now you have questions. Maybe you’re ready to take your journey a step further, but time and/or money are in short supply. Or maybe you’re ready to spend quality time with your peers — in a space where everyone’s the weird one. Well, citizen, the ADHD Town Hall was designed for you!
Town Hall sessions are weekly on Thursday nights 7:00pm-8:00pm CST beginning March 23 and ending May 4 (No Mtg. on April 6).
It’s a virtual Q&A/salon/brainstorming session, hosted by James Ochoa, open to anyone with ADHD or maybe you are living an ADHD-Adjacent life with family/friends or are a professional working with ADHD clients. . .you know who you are, right?

PROFESSIONAL TRAILBLAZING
SPEND TWELVE WEEKS WITH JAMES OCHOA WHILE HE GUIDES YOU DOWN A NEW PATH FOR TREATING ADHD
Spring 2023 Professional Trailblazing DETAILS:
Program runs March 2 – May 25*
6 Available Spots
Virtual sessions meet Thursdays from 11:30am-1:30pm CST
Tuition: $3500 (w/ a $500 Deposit)
CEU’s for LPC and LMSW in Texas
Treating adults with ADHD can be challenging and we all get stuck in our approaches from time to time. My goal with Professional Trailblazing is to share all the techniques I’ve developed over the 30+ years of working with ADHD adults. This will be a no-holds-barred sharing of my treatment techniques and philosophies. As we explore this new trail, you’ll be learning creative-yet-concrete concepts for treating adult ADHD, including, but not limited to:
The Emotional Distress Syndrome of ADHD
Strategic, therapeutic daydreaming
Mindfulness for short attention spans
*(No Mtg April 6)
“James Ochoa is a fantastic speaker and wonderful teacher. He offered an experiential journey that led us through the basics of his integrative approach to treating this disorder. In keeping with the wild intensity that can be the ADHD existence, he has crafted interventions that capitalize on imaginative leanings while weaving in evidence-based practices which give the clients solid, concrete skills to practice and use.”
“I learned a ton from James’ training and it has helped me immensely. The time I spent learning from James was invaluable.”