Therapy for Neurodivergent Adults
You’re no stranger to overwhelm, anxiety, and criticism (both internal and external). You’ve been battling negative thoughts about yourself, your competency at work or school, or your style of forming relationships with others for a long time. You may have heard that you should be kind to yourself as you navigate life with ADHD, Autism, challenges with sensory processing, and other neurodivergent neuro-types. Parts of you agree with that goal of self-love and acceptance, but you’re still left feeling confused about HOW to get there. What’s worse, you also likely have heard the exact opposite; a toxic message that claims you don’t deserve self-compassion or even compassion from other people until you “change”.
You try to resist the urge to align with that self-critical message, but it’s hard to do so when you’re feeling chronically drained, overstimulated, or misunderstood even by those who care about you. Whether you’ve sought out a formal diagnosis or simply have a solid sense of your own neurodivergent nature based on life experience and research, we will create a therapeutic environment for you to better understand yourself and to take steps towards your goals (not anyone else’s goals for you!) through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.
Areas of Focus
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Not every therapy session must be focused only on your experience of emotions. We can dedicate as much time as we need on the concrete aspects of life and consider what is working for you at work or at school or at home and what just isn’t. We will be creative in imagining systems, routines, and ways to manage stress that make sense to you and your goals. I’ll make space for you to gently challenge yourself without overriding your need for safety and to let go of misaligned expectations for yourself that are self-imposed (or imposed by others!) that don’t allow your strengths to shine.
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You want to feel loved and supported by family, friends, and partners, and you want to show that love and support back in a way that feels true to you. Together we will explore how to balance your individual needs within relationships with the needs of loved ones. We can build your confidence in identifying and sharing your emotions and addressing conflict with care. Along the way, we can acknowledge that neurotypical norms of communication might not work for you all the time. instead, we will work to discover your own style of communication and build your confidence in using it in relationships.
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Together we will explore what it is that you appreciate about yourself, even if it feels hard. We might find that your patterns of self-doubt represent voices from those who labeled their lack of understanding as “your problem” instead of theirs. We all have areas that we can grow in, and we will notice where you can gently stretch yourself to grow without judgmental self-criticism.