PODCAST. From El Paso to Empowerment: ADHD, Advocacy, and Authenticity with Victoria Reyna.

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Victoria Reyna is a licensed professional counselor providing compassionate care for individuals with ADHD, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Reyna runs Rising Perspective Counseling based in El Paso, Texas. What begins as a story of a mother advocating for her daughter’s ADHD diagnosis evolves into a mission to transform how ADHD is understood, treated, and discussed—especially in underrepresented communities.

Diagnosis by Discovery

Victoria’s ADHD journey started not with her own symptoms, but with her daughter's. While pursuing her master's degree, a brief mention of ADHD symptoms during a diagnosis class sparked a realization: “This sounds familiar.” What followed was a frustrating and eye-opening experience navigating the diagnostic process—despite her credentials as a mental health professional.

Eventually, both Victoria and her daughter received ADHD diagnoses, and it reshaped how she practiced therapy. “It just works really well with my brain,” she laughs, describing the alignment between her lived experience and her therapeutic work.

Cultural Stigma and Systemic Gaps

Living in El Paso—a city that is 80% Hispanic—Victoria highlights how cultural stigma and systemic barriers often prevent accurate diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. Mental health in general is often minimized, she says, and ADHD is frequently misunderstood as “just being a hyper kid.”

She also notes a high correlation between undiagnosed ADHD and impulsive behaviors, such as substance abuse and reckless driving, in her community.

Changing the Narrative—One Therapist at a Time

Teaming up with colleagues across the U.S., Victoria now trains other mental health professionals to more accurately recognize and support ADHD in children and adults. She stresses that many therapists still operate with outdated or incomplete views of ADHD—believing it only affects hyperactive boys or labeling clients as lazy rather than struggling.

One goal? Increase the number of providers who can accurately diagnose and support ADHD.

Building Support for Spanish-Speaking Families

Recognizing the unique barriers Spanish-speaking parents face, Victoria is now fundraising to bring a Spanish-language parent training program to El Paso.

Unfortunately, budget and bandwidth remain hurdles. “I'm a single mom of three, running a practice and caring for my mom,” she says, emphasizing the need for community support and local sponsorship.

How You Can Help

Victoria encourages listeners to:

• Join or donate to CHADD, the national nonprofit for ADHD education and support. Donations can be directed to the El Paso chapter to support local initiatives.

• Volunteer time, especially if you’re in El Paso or nearby Las Cruces, to support peer groups and events.

• Follow and support her practice, Rising Perspective Counseling, to stay informed about upcoming trainings and resources.

• Transcript

  Victoria Reyna:

  I’m a licensed professional counselor in El Paso, Texas. I call it “Ola Texas” instead of “Howdy Texas” because we’re much more on the Mexican side than the cowboy-and-rodeo image people usually picture. I’ve had my own private practice since 2020. It kind of happened by accident because of the pandemic. I figured it out in the most ADHD way—before I even had my diagnosis.

  Everyone told me not to do private practice or telehealth, but that was my only option at the time, so I just did it. One of the main reasons I pursued therapy was because, while I was in my master’s program, I sat in a class about diagnoses. They only gave us about 20 minutes on ADHD, but when they described the symptoms, I started recognizing them in my five-year-old daughter—and in myself.

  That experience pulled me into learning everything I could about ADHD. Eventually, I got her diagnosed, and after struggling to get providers to take me seriously—even as someone with a master’s degree in mental health—I finally found a doctor who listened. We got her on the right treatment plan, and I realized I wasn’t alone. That’s when I really started focusing on ADHD.

  It wasn’t until later, after attending an ADHD conference, that I recognized I had it too. I had internalized a lot of the myths: "You can't have ADHD; your room was always clean, you were quiet, you're successful." My daughter was more hyperactive and emotional, so people assumed that was what ADHD always looked like.

  But at the conference, surrounded by other professionals with ADHD—creative, bright, driven—I realized the truth. We're also the ones running late, obsessively organizing our planners, feeling intense emotions under the surface. That experience shifted my perspective.

  I've since built my practice around ADHD, and two years ago, I was officially diagnosed myself. Before that, I was misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety, and while those are valid diagnoses, they didn’t get to the root of what was going on. A quick five-question assessment isn’t enough. It was only through education and persistence that I got clarity.

  When ADHD goes untreated, anxiety and depression can increase. People often focus on the immediate pain—treating anxiety or depression—without addressing the underlying ADHD. But studies like those from Dr. Russell Barkley show untreated ADHD can shorten your life expectancy by up to 13 years. It’s a serious issue that too often gets brushed aside.

  That’s why I co-founded a training initiative with my colleagues, Tamika and Paula, to educate other mental health professionals. We created a program to help therapists and counselors better understand ADHD—what it looks like, how to diagnose it, the risk factors, and practical strategies. Less than half of clinicians can accurately identify ADHD symptoms, and that’s a huge problem.

  We’ve delivered this training in Kansas City, El Paso, and we’re hoping to bring it to other locations. We want to raise awareness and give practitioners the tools they need. Misdiagnosis—or no diagnosis at all—can do more harm than good. General therapy often doesn’t work for ADHD if the therapist doesn’t truly understand how it manifests.

  We’ve also been working on developing Spanish-language resources, like a parent training program based on a curriculum from El Futuro and Duke University. Right now, there’s no parent training here, and access in Spanish is especially limited. Our goal is to provide it for free, so we’re looking for sponsors or community support to make that happen.

  El Paso is about 80% Hispanic, and in our culture, mental health still carries a lot of stigma. ADHD is often dismissed as just being a hyper kid or bad parenting. There’s also a serious issue with drinking and driving here, which I believe ties into untreated ADHD and impulsivity. We’re trying to get ahead of it by working with local platforms like FitFam to spread awareness.

  We’ve also been hosting parent support groups, and it’s amazing to see the moment it all clicks for parents—when they understand their child isn’t being defiant or lazy, but genuinely struggling.

  We’ve had great feedback on our training program. We show that therapists can diagnose ADHD—at least to a degree—but many don't realize they can. We walk them through everything, including what's required for diagnosis, treatment strategies, and how to refer out when necessary. The goal is to shift perspectives from “lazy” or “unmotivated” to recognizing the challenges of executive function and emotional regulation.

  I named my practice Rising Perspective Counseling because I wanted to help shift that lens. Whether it’s helping a parent understand their child, or a therapist rethinking how they approach a client, that change in perspective is everything.

  For therapists listening: screen for ADHD. Use something like the ASRS (like the one on Wise Squirrels). You don’t need to diagnose everyone, but you do need to recognize when it’s present so you can support or refer properly.

  Unfortunately, licensing restrictions prevent me from seeing clients outside Texas and New Mexico, but I’m always happy to help answer questions or direct people to resources.

  To support our work:

  - Donate to CHADD and specify "El Paso chapter" so the funds support our programs directly.

  - Become a CHADD member. A portion of your membership goes to your local chapter.

  - Volunteer with us, especially if you're in El Paso or nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico.

  - Share information. Awareness makes a huge difference.

  If you'd like to stay connected, you can follow me on Instagram at @rising.perspective.counseling or visit my website: risingperspectivecounseling.com. We’ll be sharing updates, resources, and even a little Taylor Swift–inspired ADHD content!

  Thanks so much for having me on the podcast—it’s been a joy.