How to Choose the Right Therapist When You’re Neurodivergent

're Neurodivergent

Most people spend more time researching a restaurant than they do choosing a therapist.

A quick search, a glance at qualifications, a check that the fee is within budget, and a decision is made. For the general population, that approach sometimes works out. For neurodivergent people, it is much more likely to result in a therapeutic relationship that feels wrong from the start, and a quiet conclusion that therapy simply isn’t for them. Especially where so much therapy hasn’t landed before, and the person has no more to go on than they had all the other times.

The pain point is straightforward. Most people have a generic checklist for choosing a therapist: qualification, regulation body, modality, cost, availability. What that list almost never includes are the questions that matte...

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Making Therapy More Supportive for Neurodivergent Adults: Why Traditional Therapy Can Fall Short

Why Traditional Therapy Can Fall Short For Neurodivergent Adults

Have you ever sat in a therapy room and felt, deep down, that the approach simply wasn’t built for a brain like  yours? Perhaps you were asked to challenge your thoughts or identify your feelings in a way that your brain never  quite managed to do. Maybe you left session after session feeling more frustrated than when you arrived,  wondering if something was fundamentally wrong with you rather than with the method. 

As an Integrative Psychotherapist and Neurodiversity Coach, I work with a great many people who have spent  years in therapy without it quite landing. Often, the missing piece is not motivation or effort. It is a mismatch  be...

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Late-Diagnosed ADHD and Autism: Why Everything Suddenly Makes Sense 

Late-Diagnosed ADHD and Autism: Why Everything Suddenly Makes Sense 

Have you spent a large part of your existence feeling like you were somehow doing life ‘wrong’? Exhausted by social situations you could not quite navigate, overwhelmed by things others seemed to find easy or secretly convinced that you were broken in some way nobody could name? 

Perhaps these feelings have led you to receive a diagnosis of either ADHD or autism. If you have recently been diagnosed, you might be experiencing something many of my clients describe as a profound shift. A diagnosis is neither the beginning nor the end, but rather a way of naming something that has always been present. 

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What If Your Environment Is The Problem? A Neurodiversity Coach’s Perspective 

What If Your Environment Is The Problem? A Neurodivergence Coach's Perspective 

You have tried harder. You have created routines, written lists and set reminders to stay on track. You have taken on an excessive level of responsibility, worked beyond standard hours, and pushed through sensory overload and social exhaustion.  Yet, something still doesn’t seem to be working. 

Here is what may not be obvious: you might not be the problem, your environment might be.

As a neurodiversity specialist therapist and coach, and as someone who is AuDHD, I often meet clients who arrive believing they are ‘broken’. They are not. More often, they a...

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The Importance of Finding Your People: Friendship, Neurodivergence & Belonging

The Importance of Finding Your People: Friendship, Neurodivergence & Belonging

Friendship is one of life’s greatest sources of comfort and connection; yet, for many people diagnosed with neurodivergence, it can also be one of the most challenging areas to navigate. You may crave closeness but feel drained by socialising, or doubt whether you’re ‘doing friendship right’. You may find yourself masking, overthinking every interaction, or struggling to maintain consistency when your energy levels dip.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. As an integrative psychotherapist and neurodiversity coach,  I’ve seen how friendship can bring both healing and hurt for neurodiverg...

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The Power of Setting Boundaries: How They Go Beyond Assertiveness

The Power of Setting Boundaries: How They Go Beyond Assertiveness

You know how to say no. You are able to hold your ground in difficult conversations. You don’t let people walk all over you at work, and you are not afraid to speak up when something isn’t right. 

So why do you still feel exhausted and depleted? 

This is one of the most common challenges I see in high performing neurodivergent clients. They arrive confident in their assertiveness, yet remain puzzled about why they do not feel significantly better. They have read the books, practiced ‘I’ statements and had the difficult conversations, and still feel worn out. 

As a ...

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Neurodivergent Relationships: Common Challenges and How to Navigate Them 

Neurodivergent Relationships: Common Challenges and How  to Navigate Them 

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so there’s never a better time to talk about neurodivergence and  romantic relationships. Neurodivergent people often experience love deeply and intensely, but  romantic relationships can bring unique challenges. Whether you are dating, in a long-term  relationship or navigating a breakup, your neurodivergence can influence communication, intimacy,  emotional regulation and connection. This article explores why romantic relationships can feel harder  for neurodivergent people and how relationships can be shaped in ways that honour who you are  rather than asking you to mask or adapt endlessly. 

Have you ever found yourself wondering why relationships seem to take so much more effort...

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You Aren’t Falling Apart: Emotional Overstimulation, Nervous System Dysregulation and Burnout in Neurodivergent Adults 

You Aren’t Falling Apart: Emotional Overstimulation, Nervous System Dysregulation and Burnout in Neurodivergent Adults 

Have you ever noticed how a single problem can make your whole life feel like it’s falling apart? One setback and suddenly work feels overwhelming, relationships feel fragile and even getting out of bed seems monumental. After more than twelve years as a Neurodiversity Coach and Therapist, supporting neurodivergent people, and through my own experience as someone who is AuDHD, I have learned that this sense of total collapse is often a perception of the experience, rather than the reality. Yes, the challenge that you’re facing may be real. Yes, it may be painful. But, most of you are functioning ...

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From Hibernation to Intention: Why Neurodivergent People Don’t Need New Year’s Resolutions 

From Hibernation to Intention: Why Neurodivergent People Don’t Need New Year’s Resolutions 

As the calendar flips into a new year, there is often an unspoken expectation that we should feel  renewed, motivated and ready to make changes. January is culturally framed as a reset point: a clean  slate, a chance to reinvent ourselves, a moment to commit to ambitious resolutions about  productivity, health, habits or success. This messaging is everywhere, in workplaces, social media and well-meaning conversations about “fresh starts.” 

For many people, this time of year feels very different. Instead of momentum, there may be fatigue.  Instead of clarity, there may be fog. Instead of excitement, there may be pressure, dread or quiet self-criticism for not feeling the way we are apparently supposed to feel. It can be a...

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New Year Survival Tips: Welcoming the New Year on Your Own Terms

New Year Survival Tips: Welcoming the New Year on Your Own Terms

New Year’s Eve is often marketed as the night of all nights.  A night of joy, celebration, and fresh starts. Loud music. Crowded rooms. Fireworks. Booze. The promise that this is the night that matters.

For many neurodivergent individuals, this night does not feel expansive or hopeful. It feels demanding. What is presented as celebration can quickly become an exercise in endurance, as sensory overload, social performance, financial pressure and disrupted routines converge in a single evening. 

In my work as a neurodiversity coach and therapist, I meet many individuals who dread New Year’s Eve ...

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