Adult ADHD Psychiatrist for Essex County, NJ

Essex County is New Jersey's second most populous county, with an estimated 896,379 residents in July 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It includes Newark and Montclair, which have their own pages, plus suburbs such as the Oranges, Maplewood, Millburn, Livingston, Bloomfield, Nutley and Belleville. This page covers what applies county-wide: the county's unusual three-part emergency screening system, its public mental health offices, campus disability services, and the New Jersey rules that govern ADHD care for residents.

How Essex County residents work and commute

In Census commuting data for 2016 to 2020, about 51% of Essex County's roughly 368,000 employed residents worked inside the county. About 11% worked in Manhattan, and sizable groups worked in neighboring Morris, Union and Hudson counties. In practice, that means most Essex residents will take video visits from New Jersey, while a smaller group may sometimes be in New York during a visit.

Common reasons adults here look for an evaluation:

• Long-standing trouble with focus, follow-through or time management that has started to cost them at work.
• A college or graduate program asking for documentation. Essex County College, Seton Hall University and Montclair State University all have disability offices.
• A diagnosis in childhood and a wish to restart care as an adult. See restarting ADHD care after a childhood diagnosis.

Dr. Shershow is licensed in New Jersey and New York and sees adults 18 and older for evaluation, treatment planning and medication management when appropriate.

The New Jersey rules that apply to a visit from Essex County

When you are in Essex County during a visit, you are a patient located in New Jersey. The clinician needs a New Jersey license, and New Jersey's prescribing law applies. For adults on a Schedule II stimulant, P.L.2026, c.40 (in effect since July 8, 2026) says:

• The first examination may be by telehealth or in person.
• After a telehealth start, an in-person visit must follow within 30 days.
• There must be a contact every three months, which can be in person or by live two-way audio and video. A phone call alone does not count.
• At least one in-person visit is required each year.

For a visit taken while you are in Manhattan, New York's rules apply. As of October 2026, those follow the federal DEA telemedicine flexibilities, extended through December 31, 2026. The office will explain how visits are arranged for patients located in New Jersey. More detail is in telehealth ADHD prescriptions in New Jersey.

Psychiatric emergency screening in Essex County

Most New Jersey counties have one primary designated screening service. Essex is the only county on the state's October 2026 list with three:

These services handle psychiatric emergencies and crisis intervention. You can also call or text 988 at any time, and call 911 in an emergency. Dr. Shershow's practice is not an emergency service. More options are listed in mental health crisis resources in New Jersey.

County offices and statewide help

These are public or nonprofit resources, separate from the practice:

• Essex County Mental Health Board. The state lists the county's Mental Health Administrator with the board at 204 Grove Avenue in Cedar Grove. The state lists this office as the county's mental health contact.
• Essex County Office of Alcohol, Drug Use and Addiction Services. Listed at 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Newark, for questions about substance use services.
• NJ Mental Health Cares. Free, confidential support and referral at 866-202-4357, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.
• Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. The Essex County field office is listed at 990 Broad Street in Newark. See DVRS and adult ADHD.

College disability offices in Essex County

• Essex County College. Disability Support Services is run through the Office of Student Development and Counseling. College Regulation 5-22 asks for medical documentation no more than two years old from the date of the request, showing how the disability affects learning.
• Seton Hall University. Disability Support Services is in Duffy Hall, Room 67, on the South Orange campus.
• Montclair State University. The Disability Resource Center is in Cole Hall. Students apply through the AIM system and upload documentation, and the center says review takes about 7 to 10 business days.

The two-year limit at Essex County College is worth noting: an old evaluation may not be accepted, even if the diagnosis has not changed. Graduate and professional students at Seton Hall or Montclair State who plan to request accommodations on licensing exams should also ask early, since testing agencies set their own documentation rules. Ask each office what it needs before your appointment. An evaluation does not guarantee a diagnosis or accommodations. See ADHD accommodations in New Jersey colleges.

Filling prescriptions in Essex County

New Jersey tracks dispensed controlled substances through its Prescription Monitoring Program, and under N.J.A.C. 13:35-7.6(b) a prescriber checks it, along with taking a history, an exam, a reasonable effort to get prior records and a treatment plan, before starting any controlled substance. Expect it as a routine step. Call your pharmacy before a new prescription is sent to confirm it has the medication in stock. If you sometimes work in Manhattan and want to fill there, check with that pharmacy in advance; see filling an ADHD prescription across the New York and New Jersey line.

Insurance questions

New Jersey's parity law, P.L.2019, c.58, applies to policies issued or renewed in New Jersey since June 10, 2019. The Department of Banking and Insurance says it covers mental health conditions defined by reference to the DSM. Your plan still sets cost sharing and network rules. The office can tell you the current fees and how insurance works with the practice; the fees and insurance page lists questions to ask your plan.

How to start

Call the office or use the call-back form on this page. Say where you expect to be during visits, and gather a list of your medications and any old school or medical records you can find. Records help but are not required. What the first evaluation covers is on the adult ADHD evaluation page.