James Ochoa
ADHD Pathfinder
I am a licensed professional counselor dedicated to treating, understanding and exploring adult ADHD. As an adult with ADHD myself, I’m passionate about the possibilities. I believe we can learn to live powerfully despite our emotional storms, and I’ve been privileged to help people with ADHD discover new paths to their true, effective selves.
Despite growing up in a large, loving Texas family, I never seemed to fit into any of the available boxes. Many of my siblings excelled in school, but my brain didn’t seem to work as well as theirs. By the time I began studying psychology at the University of Texas in Austin, I was pretty sure something was wrong with me, but at least I realized I wasn’t alone. A lot of people were “wrong” in very familiar ways, but years would have to pass before this wrongness would be commonly understood as ADHD. Even then, as a new clinician with an M.Ed. in Counseling & Guidance from Texas State University, I worked most often with children, because, like many people, I thought ADHD was something kids got--and kids outgrew. My own diagnosis came in 1996. That’s how my journey began.
Frank Ramirez
Office Manager
Hello! I'm Frank, the virtual office manager for James Ochoa's practice. I handle appointments, billing, and general inquiries to ensure everything runs smoothly for both James and his clients.
When I'm not managing the practice, I'm a musician performing throughout Austin, across Texas, and beyond. My greatest role began in November 2018 when my daughter was born, opening an amazing new chapter in my life. As she grows, I continue to appreciate the balance between my work supporting the ADHD community and my personal journey as a father and musician.
Jennifer Walsh
Counseling Intern
Hello! I am a counseling intern studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Bellevue University. My passion is helping individuals navigate the unique challenges and strengths that come with ADHD, whether it's managing focus, building executive functioning skills, or improving self-compassion. I take a collaborative, strengths-based approach, incorporating practical strategies and a deep understanding of how ADHD affects daily life.
As a fellow ADHDer myself, I spend most of my free time creating! I love trying out different forms of art and playing with various media such as bright paints, disco tiles, yarn, and glitter. When I am not working on my next project, I love to recharge by spending time with my husband, two cats, and golden retriever.
Liam Putnam-Dean
Marketing and Social Media
COMING SOON
Jules Ochoa
Web Developer and Podcast Producer
I am a user experience researcher by career, behavior analyst and biologist by trade, and a perfectionist at heart. I have worked with James (who just so happens to be my dad) since the beginning of 2017. Along with helping develop his websites, I’ve also written and produced two podcasts for James: The Complex (co-written with Robin Chotzinoff) and Shiny Shorts. I’m currently finishing a Masters of Science in Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas where I have gained experience in behavioral neuroscience, autism treatment and animal training. Understanding and changing behavior is the passion that drives everything I do.
My few leisure hours are spent playing trumpet, swimming laps, training my two cats and basset hound puppy, or playing Dungeons and Dragons.
CURRENTLY ON SABBATICAL LEAVE
Edie Vitemb-Ochoa
ADHD Coach/Strategist
I am a life coach, educator, strategist, artist and body worker, following 28 years as a public-school art educator. It would be hard to be married to James Ochoa without taking an interest in ADHD, a condition I consider to be a neurological difference, as opposed to a deficit! In my coaching practice, I strive to collaborate with clients on customized tools and strategies that allow them to feel happier, experience personal growth and discover their drives, passions and strengths. In addition to my work with ADHD, I specialize in coaching young adults, people in relationships and parents.
In my free time you can find me spending time with family and friends, walking my dog on the greenbelt, swimming in Barton Springs, gardening, or being a maker in my art studio.
Robin Chotzinoff
Writer/Editor
Before working with James Ochoa, I spent three decades as a working writer, producing three non-fiction books, countless magazine articles, many original songs and a steady stream of unpublished fiction. It now seems obvious that I had ADHD as far back as I can remember. Helping James get his ideas out of his head and onto the page has been one of the most rewarding jobs of my career--and not just because when it comes to ADHD, he gets it. His work continues to affect me profoundly. I used to think of my ADHD as a semi-shameful trait that I couldn’t seem to control, corral or conceal. After internalizing James’s key concepts, I now see my ADHD as the engine that drives my creativity and imagination.
After the publication of Focused Forward James suggested I collaborate with his son Jules on an educational podcast about ADHD. Instead, Jules and I wrote two seasons of The Complex podcast, a genre-bending drama featuring an apartment building full of imaginary adults with ADHD—all of them in therapy with the very real James Ochoa, who plays himself.
Like most ADHD-ers, I have too many hobbies and interests. I enjoy telling stories, with music, on Austin stages, vegetable gardening, amateur architecture and upholstery, my three dogs, my three ducks, and cycling the world (someday) with my journalist husband, Eric Dexheimer.