Melissa Orlov

Short Version Bio

Melissa Orlov is the founder of ADHDmarriage.com, and ADHD & Marriage Consulting.  She helps ADHD-affected couples from around the world re-balance their relationships and learn to thrive through her seminars, books, and consulting.  She has written two award-winning books on the impact of ADHD in relationships.  Her first, The ADHD Effect on Marriage was called 'the relationship bible for couples impacted by ADHD' by ADDitude Magazine in 2023.  Melissa teaches mental health professionals how to work with couples impacted by ADHD and leads a team of consultants who specialize in this field.  Melissa blogs for PsychologyToday.com and at www.adhdmarriage.com, where she hosts a large community of adults learning about ADHD in relationships.  She has been interviewed by many, including the New York Times, CNN, Today, and US News and World Report.  You can find her at ADHDmarriage.com.

Longer Biography

“Melissa Orlov is one of the foremost authorities on ADHD and relationships in the world today” says Dr. Edward Hallowell, co-author of Driven to Distraction and other seminal books about ADHD.  “Every day she offers advice based on not only her firsthand experience but also the immense knowledge she has gained through her study.  She also has what few experts have - the benefit of her own suffering.  She weathered the worst kind of storm and has lived what she's talking about.”

Founder of ADHDmarriage.com (2007), and ADHD & Marriage Consulting, Melissa has spent years helping couples impacted by ADHD improve their relationships and learn to thrive.  She provides seminars, support groups, private couples consulting, in-depth information, professional training, and more.  

Her first book, The ADHD Effect on Marriage, introduces couples to what they need to know to learn to thrive in an ADHD-impacted relationship.  Named best psychology book of 2010 by ForeWord Reviews, and 'the relationship bible for couples impacted by ADHD' by ADDitude Magazine in 2023, The ADHD Effect has been a revelation and relationship-changer for many thousands of couples.  Her second book, The Couple's Guide to Thriving with ADHD, helps couples navigate the emotional issues they face as they work to revive their relationship.  It was awarded a gold IndieFab award for best psychology book of 2014 and a Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal by the IBPA.

Orlov also blogs for Psychology Today, and authored the “Your Relationships” column for ADDitude Magazine from 2008-2014.  She is a contributing author to Married to Distraction, with Hallowell and his wife, Sue George Hallowell, LICSW, and to The Distracted Couple, the first therapist handbook about counseling couples with ADHD.

Melissa Orlov has been interviewed about the topic of ADHD and marriage by many news organizations, including the New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, CNN, Today, and the American Psychological Association Monitor.  She is a cum laude graduate of Harvard College. In her free time Melissa enjoys road biking, traveling and playing the cello.