Dr Valentino A. Pironti

Senior Clinical Psychologist | ADHD and Autism Specialist

Dr Valentino Pironti, Adult ADHD and Autism Specialist in Cambridge and London
Health and Care Professions Council logo indicating the professional registration of Dr Valentino Pironti as a Clinical Psychologist
British Psychological Society logo indicating the professional affiliation of Dr Valentino Pironti
Dr Valentino Pironti is a Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered Clinical Psychologist, a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow and cognitive neuroscientist with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, with specialization in adult ADHD.

Dr Pironti is one of the UK’s leading specialists in adult ADHD and Autism, and since 2018 is the founder and Clinical Director of Cambridge Adult ADHD & ASD Clinic, a specialist service dedicated exclusively to adult ADHD and autism assessments and treatment that has since supported hundreds of adults all over the UK and internationally.

Dr Pironti is qualified in clinical psychology, awarded with the highest grade (Summa Cum Laude). In addition, he holds a PhD from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.

For six years, until March 2014, Dr Valentino Pironti was involved in the running and development of the Adult ADHD Clinic at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. He was one of the original two clinicians who developed the service, which began as the Cambridge Adult ADHD Clinic at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. During this time, his work was dedicated entirely to the assessment and multimodal treatment of adults with ADHD, often presenting with comorbid conditions such as autism.

In 2009, Dr Valentino Pironti was awarded a UK Medical Research (MRC) PhD Scholarship by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge for a research program he developed and led. Titled “Neurocognitive Endophenotypes in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (NEA-ADHD),” the program was adopted by the National Institute for Health Research and the Mental Health Research Network, which provide support for high-quality clinical research studies. His research led to the discovery of novel vulnerability markers for adult ADHD, a contribution that, in 2014, was recognised with a New Investigator Award from the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology in Washington, D.C., and resulted in publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals including Biological Psychiatry and The British Journal of Psychiatry.

In 2019, Dr Valentino Pironti co-authored the Updated European Consensus Statement on Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult ADHD, a scientific article developed by 63 ADHD experts to support clinicians with evidence-based guidance and clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD.

Before specialising in adult ADHD and autism, Dr Pironti gained substantial experience in clinical neuroscience and neuropsychology. He worked at the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI), University of Cambridge, on predictive neurophysiological biomarkers for mild cognitive impairment. He also trained in specialist neuropsychological assessment at the University of Milano-Bicocca and Niguarda Hospital in Milan, focusing on neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia and mild cognitive impairment. In parallel with his clinical training, he conducted experimental research using advanced neuroimaging techniques (fMRI and MEG) to study brain changes associated with cognitive and language alterations in neurological disorders. He also spent six months at the York Neuroimaging Centre, using MEG to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying synaesthesia.

Honours and Awards

  • Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) – Registration in Clinical Psychology

  • British Psychological Society (BPS) – Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)

  • British Psychological Society (BPS) – Associate Fellow (AFBPsS)

  • European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA) – EuroPsy: European Certificate in Psychology

  • Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne – Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Psychopharmacology

  • International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology – New Investigator Award (for the discovery of novel vulnerability markers in adult ADHD)

  • University of Cambridge – PhD, Department of Psychiatry

  • UK Medical Research Council (MRC) – PhD Scholarship

  • Specialisation in Clinical Psychology – Awarded summa cum laude

Media and Features

  • TopDoctors UK – “ADHD doesn’t exist” – a top psychologist debunks the myth
    Article addressing common misconceptions about adult ADHD with evidence-based clinical insights.

  • The Times (UK) – “How being diagnosed with ADHD at 42 transformed my life”
    Includes expert commentary on adult ADHD assessment and diagnosis.
    (Subscription may be required)

Publications

    • Pironti VA. Potential implications of removing evidence of impairment from the DSM-5 age-of-onset criterion in adult ADHD assessment. Br J Psychiatry. 2026 Jul 6:1-2. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2026.10704.
    • Kooij JJS, […] Pironti V, Ginsberg Y, Félegyházy Z, Garcia-Portilla MP, Asherson P. Updated European Consensus Statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD. Eur Psychiatry. 2019 Feb;56:14-34. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.11.001. Epub 2018 Nov 16. PMID: 30453134.
    • Pironti VA, Vatansever D, Sahakian BJ. Shared alterations in resting-state brain connectivity in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Psychol Med. 2021 Jan;51(2):329-339. doi: 10.1017/S0033291719003374. Epub 2019 Nov 26. PMID: 31769365; PMCID: PMC7893505.
    • Pironti VA, Lai MC, Müller U, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ. Personality traits in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. BJPsych Open. 2016 Sep 1;2(4):280-285. doi: 10.1192/bjpo.bp.116.003608. PMID: 27703788; PMCID: PMC5008123.
    • Pironti VA, Lai MC, Morein-Zamir S, Müller U, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ. Temporal reproduction and its neuroanatomical correlates in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Psychol Med. 2016 Sep;46(12):2561-9. doi: 10.1017/S003329171600101X. Epub 2016 Jun 27. PMID: 27345441.
    • Pironti VA, Lai MC, Müller U, Dodds CM, Suckling J, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ. Neuroanatomical abnormalities and cognitive impairments are shared by adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Oct 15;76(8):639-47. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.025. Epub 2013 Oct 5. PMID: 24199662; PMCID: PMC4183379.
    • de Rover M, Pironti VA, McCabe JA, Acosta-Cabronero J, Arana FS, Morein-Zamir S, Hodges JR, Robbins TW, Fletcher PC, Nestor PJ, Sahakian BJ. Hippocampal dysfunction in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a functional neuroimaging study of a visuospatial paired associates learning task. Neuropsychologia. 2011 Jun;49(7):2060-70. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.03.037. Epub 2011 Apr 6. PMID: 21477602.
    • Camille N, Pironti VA, Dodds CM, Aitken MR, Robbins TW, Clark L. Striatal sensitivity to personal responsibility in a regret-based decision-making task. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2010 Dec;10(4):460-9. doi: 10.3758/CABN.10.4.460. PMID: 21098807

     

Academic & Professional Profiles

Dr Valentino Pironti, Adult ADHD and Autism Specialist in Cambridge and London
Health and Care Professions Council logo indicating the professional registration of Dr Valentino Pironti as a Clinical Psychologist
British Psychological Society logo indicating the professional affiliation of Dr Valentino Pironti
Dr Valentino Pironti is a Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered Clinical Psychologist, a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow and cognitive neuroscientist with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, with specialization in adult ADHD.

Dr Pironti is one of the UK’s leading specialists in adult ADHD and Autism, and since 2018 is the founder and Clinical Director of Cambridge Adult ADHD & ASD Clinic, a specialist service dedicated exclusively to adult ADHD and autism assessments and treatment that has since supported hundreds of adults all over the UK and internationally.

Dr Pironti is qualified in clinical psychology, awarded with the highest grade (Summa Cum Laude). In addition, he holds a PhD from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.

For six years, until March 2014, Dr Valentino Pironti was involved in the running and development of the Adult ADHD Clinic at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. He was one of the original two clinicians who developed the service, which began as the Cambridge Adult ADHD Clinic at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. During this time, his work was dedicated entirely to the assessment and multimodal treatment of adults with ADHD, often presenting with comorbid conditions such as autism.

In 2009, Dr Valentino Pironti was awarded a UK Medical Research (MRC) PhD Scholarship by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge for a research program he developed and led. Titled “Neurocognitive Endophenotypes in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (NEA-ADHD),” the program was adopted by the National Institute for Health Research and the Mental Health Research Network, which provide support for high-quality clinical research studies. His research led to the discovery of novel vulnerability markers for adult ADHD, a contribution that, in 2014, was recognised with a New Investigator Award from the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology in Washington, D.C., and resulted in publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals including Biological Psychiatry and The British Journal of Psychiatry.

In 2019, Dr Valentino Pironti co-authored the Updated European Consensus Statement on Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult ADHD, a scientific article developed by 63 ADHD experts to support clinicians with evidence-based guidance and clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD.

Before specialising in adult ADHD and autism, Dr Pironti also conducted research and clinical work in the field of neurological conditions. In 2006, he won a position at the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI), University of Cambridge, where he worked on predictive neurophysiological biomarkers for mild cognitive impairment. He also has extensive experience in neuropsychological assessment, having worked in a specialist neuropsychology lab focused on the evaluation of neurodegenerative conditions, such as dementia and mild cognitive impairment. This work was based at the University of Milano Bicocca and Niguarda Hospital in Milan, Italy. In parallel with his clinical training, he engaged in experimental research using advanced neuroimaging techniques—specifically functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG)—to investigate structural brain changes associated with language alterations in dementia. He later spent six months at the York Neuroimaging Centre, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to study the brain mechanisms underlying synaesthesia.

Honours and Awards

  • Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) – Registration in Clinical Psychology

  • British Psychological Society (BPS) – Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)

  • British Psychological Society (BPS) – Associate Fellow (AFBPsS)

  • European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA) – EuroPsy: European Certificate in Psychology

  • Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne – Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Psychopharmacology

  • International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology – New Investigator Award (for the discovery of novel vulnerability markers in adult ADHD)

  • University of Cambridge – PhD, Department of Psychiatry

  • UK Medical Research Council (MRC) – PhD Scholarship

  • Specialisation in Clinical Psychology – Awarded summa cum laude

Media and Features

  • TopDoctors UK – “ADHD doesn’t exist” – a top psychologist debunks the myth
    Article addressing common misconceptions about adult ADHD with evidence-based clinical insights.

  • The Times (UK) – “How being diagnosed with ADHD at 42 transformed my life”
    Includes expert commentary on adult ADHD assessment and diagnosis.
    (Subscription may be required)

Publications

    • Pironti VA. Potential implications of removing evidence of impairment from the DSM-5 age-of-onset criterion in adult ADHD assessment. Br J Psychiatry. 2026 Jul 6:1-2. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2026.10704.
    • Kooij JJS, […] Pironti V, Ginsberg Y, Félegyházy Z, Garcia-Portilla MP, Asherson P. Updated European Consensus Statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD. Eur Psychiatry. 2019 Feb;56:14-34. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.11.001. Epub 2018 Nov 16. PMID: 30453134.
    • Pironti VA, Vatansever D, Sahakian BJ. Shared alterations in resting-state brain connectivity in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Psychol Med. 2021 Jan;51(2):329-339. doi: 10.1017/S0033291719003374. Epub 2019 Nov 26. PMID: 31769365; PMCID: PMC7893505.
    • Pironti VA, Lai MC, Müller U, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ. Personality traits in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. BJPsych Open. 2016 Sep 1;2(4):280-285. doi: 10.1192/bjpo.bp.116.003608. PMID: 27703788; PMCID: PMC5008123.
    • Pironti VA, Lai MC, Morein-Zamir S, Müller U, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ. Temporal reproduction and its neuroanatomical correlates in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Psychol Med. 2016 Sep;46(12):2561-9. doi: 10.1017/S003329171600101X. Epub 2016 Jun 27. PMID: 27345441.
    • Pironti VA, Lai MC, Müller U, Dodds CM, Suckling J, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ. Neuroanatomical abnormalities and cognitive impairments are shared by adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives. Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Oct 15;76(8):639-47. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.025. Epub 2013 Oct 5. PMID: 24199662; PMCID: PMC4183379.
    • de Rover M, Pironti VA, McCabe JA, Acosta-Cabronero J, Arana FS, Morein-Zamir S, Hodges JR, Robbins TW, Fletcher PC, Nestor PJ, Sahakian BJ. Hippocampal dysfunction in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a functional neuroimaging study of a visuospatial paired associates learning task. Neuropsychologia. 2011 Jun;49(7):2060-70. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.03.037. Epub 2011 Apr 6. PMID: 21477602.
    • Camille N, Pironti VA, Dodds CM, Aitken MR, Robbins TW, Clark L. Striatal sensitivity to personal responsibility in a regret-based decision-making task. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2010 Dec;10(4):460-9. doi: 10.3758/CABN.10.4.460. PMID: 21098807

     

Academic & Professional Profiles

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  • I started my journey with diagnosing possible adult ADHD in May 2017, having spent around 9 months struggling with various NHS departments I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. I researched online and found a number of reviews and recommendations for the Cambridge Adult ADHD & ASD Clinic, including being listed in the AADD-UK list of specialists. From my very first interactions with the clinic my entire experience was elevated from that which I received with the NHS. Staff were quick to respond, took genuine interest in my queries and were helpful in providing advice. I was able to have an appointment within 2 weeks of initial contact and received my diagnosis shortly after. From 9 months of waiting to less than a month to get into a position where I could finally be helped. The assessment services were thorough and instilled me with confidence that I was in the right hands. My assessment and subsequent treatment has always felt tailored to my needs and requirements rather than following a pre-defined script. The care I have received throughout has restored my faith in good practitioners being available. I would highly recommend the services provided by Dr Pironti and his colleagues. J.B.
  • I was initially sceptical about approaching a private clinic but was reassured to find that Dr Pironti had worked in the Cambridge NHS service for several years and published research in peer-reviewed journals. I found Dr Pironti down to earth and understanding while clearly possessing genuine expertise in relation to ADHD. After completing and submitting the required paperwork my assessment via Skype was comprehensive and I appreciated the explanation of the process that was given once Dr Pironti had reached his conclusion. Follow up sessions to arrange medication and check my progress were conducted in a manner which was thorough yet remained light-hearted and personal. It was a great relief to be in the care of professionals with so much knowledge about ADHD and a passion to help patients to better understand and cope with it. I have been helped enormously by the Cambridge Adult ADHD Clinic and would whole-heartedly recommend them to others. A.C. Cambridge
  • “Dr Pironti and his team were recommended and from when I first called their office, I knew we were in good hands.  It was clear this clinic is focused on the clients well-being.  I initially called to discuss addiction issues and after a thorough conversation, it was suggested our son call the office personally.  They soon established there were other issues and our son agreed to meet with Dr Pironti to discuss his undiagnosed ADD. Dr Pironti is specialist in this area and was fantastic from the beginning.  We met this week and there was an immediate sense of ease and we were aware of thoughtfully directed questions, keeping us on track.  He explained where necessary, the workings of the brain and its impact on certain behaviours.  The meeting was invaluable and our son definitely took on board the necessary information to keep him aware of his good and bad decisions and their long term effects.  Dr Pironti was extremely knowledgeable and genuine, offering further contact, should our son have any difficulties or concerns, very comforting for a young person who might not always be willing to discuss their issues with parents.  He reminded our son that he is one of a larger family unit and to remain mindful of his actions, suggested in a careful and thoughtful manner.  Our son was relieved and happy to have had this meeting and came away saying that he understood himself better and tells us, he will put in a place a better regime, now knowing his areas of impulsivity.  We will book further consultations and feel extremely lucky to have come across this team of caring professionals within the field of therapy, an area we did not feel sure about.  We would absolutely recommend Dr Pironti and his team.” A.D. Cambridge
  • “Having spent some considerable time researching a clinician who fit criteria that involved qualifications, expertise, and location, I chose Cambridge Adult ADHD Clinic. My consultation was incredibly thorough, exacting and I had a full sense of confidence that whatever results would come to pass, they would reflect a robust examination. I felt Dr Pironti was emphatic, appropriately judicious in his collection of information and put my mind at ease that no conclusions would be reached before everything that he needed was examined. His knowledge sharing with me put me at ease, he was conversational, not at all patronizing or judgmental and having a long history of dealing with poor even frustrating communication from health practitioners, I was relieved and delighted that he was in fact the contrary. He seems to value patient dialogue and is both holistic in his approach as well as scientific, which I think puts him at a distinct advantage. At every stage, I was communicated with, the collection of information was robust and the entire experience from start to finish was not in fact stressful, but enlightening.  I most wholeheartedly endorse him and think anybody who has or thinks they may have ADHD symptoms would value time spent exploring this clinic.” JM, Jan 24, 2017