Neurodiversity & Wellbeing
Being neurodivergent can shape the way you experience, process and respond to the world around you. This can bring strengths and ways of thinking that are an important part of who you are, while navigating environments and expectations that don't always recognise or accommodate your needs can also be exhausting.
Support For ADHD, Autism And Neurodivergent Experiences
You may be autistic, have ADHD, identify as neurodivergent, be exploring whether neurodivergence might help you understand some of your experiences, or simply recognise some of these experiences in yourself. You may experience sensory overwhelm, find changes or uncertainty particularly difficult, struggle to switch off, experience emotions intensely, or find everyday demands such as organising, starting tasks or managing competing demands take more energy than other people realise.
Relationships and social situations can sometimes bring their own challenges. You may find criticism, rejection or feeling excluded particularly difficult, replay interactions afterwards or worry that you've upset or disappointed someone. You may also have become very good at adapting yourself around other people. Monitoring how you speak, rehearsing conversations, hiding discomfort or pushing through sensory and emotional overwhelm can make it difficult for others to recognise how much energy everyday situations are taking.
Over time, being misunderstood, criticised or repeatedly expected to manage in ways that don't work well for you can affect confidence and the way you see yourself. For some people, developing a greater understanding of their neurodivergence can bring relief and help experiences that previously felt confusing begin to make more sense. It can also bring more complicated feelings — perhaps sadness, anger or grief when looking back at times when you needed greater understanding or support.
Taking The First Step
You don't need to have everything figured out or be able to explain why certain things feel difficult. We can begin with your experience — what feels manageable, what feels overwhelming, what helps and what you would like to understand better about yourself. I offer a free 15–20 minute introductory call where we can briefly talk about what you're looking for, answer any questions you may have and see whether working together feels like a good fit.
How can therapy help with Neurodiversity & Wellbeing
Therapy can offer a space to explore your experiences, understand yourself more fully and consider what might support your emotional wellbeing. Together, we can look at what feels difficult and what may be contributing to it. This might include anxiety, emotional or sensory overwhelm, masking, relationships, rejection sensitivity, self-esteem, burnout or the pressure of trying to manage expectations that don't always work well for you.
We can become curious about patterns in your experiences — what tends to overwhelm you, what helps you feel more regulated, what drains your energy and what helps you feel more comfortable and connected to yourself. Our work might involve recognising your needs and limits, communicating those needs to others, developing boundaries, understanding difficult emotions or finding practical approaches that work with the way you experience and process things.
There can also be space to explore the impact of past experiences. Being misunderstood, criticised, excluded or feeling pressure to adapt yourself around others can influence the beliefs you develop about who you are. Therapy can help you make sense of these experiences with greater understanding and compassion, while recognising the strengths, interests and qualities that are important parts of you.
What we focus on will be shaped around your individual experiences, needs and what feels most meaningful to you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Neurodiversity & Wellbeing Therapy
You don't need a diagnosis to come to therapy. You may already know that you're neurodivergent, be waiting for an assessment, be exploring this possibility or simply recognise particular experiences that you would like support with. Therapy can begin with understanding what is happening for you and what you would like support with, rather than needing to arrive with a particular label.
Masking can involve consciously or unconsciously adapting or hiding aspects of yourself in response to expectations around you. You might rehearse conversations, monitor how you communicate, hide sensory discomfort or push yourself through situations that take considerable effort. Over time, this can contribute to exhaustion, anxiety, burnout or feeling unsure about what you actually need.
What looks small from the outside may not feel small to the person experiencing it. Noise, sensory input, social interaction, changes of plan, decision-making, concentrating, organising yourself or managing several demands at once can all take energy. Sometimes the thing that appears to trigger overwhelm is simply the final demand after your mind and body have already been managing a great deal. Therapy can help us understand your individual patterns, recognise signs of overwhelm and explore what helps you regulate and recover.
Some neurodivergent people describe experiencing rejection, criticism or feeling excluded particularly intensely. You might hear this described as rejection sensitivity, or sometimes rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD). A small change in someone's tone, feeling left out, receiving feedback or thinking that you've disappointed someone can sometimes bring a powerful emotional response. You might replay what happened, become very self-critical, withdraw or feel an urgent need to repair the situation. These experiences can also be influenced by what you've been through. If you've experienced criticism, misunderstanding, exclusion or repeated messages that you were getting things wrong, situations that feel similar can carry particular emotional weight. Therapy can help us explore what happens for you in these moments, understand the patterns around rejection and develop ways of responding with greater understanding and compassion towards yourself.
It can. Repeated experiences of being corrected, misunderstood, excluded or compared with other people can influence the beliefs you develop about yourself. If you've spent years wondering why certain things seem easier for other people, you may have come to interpret difficulties as personal failures. Therapy can provide space to explore these experiences and develop a more compassionate and balanced understanding of yourself.
Yes. Sometimes people have spent so much time adapting, pushing through or trying to meet other people's expectations that recognising their own needs can be difficult. Together, we can explore what helps you feel settled and regulated, what takes energy, what contributes to overwhelm and what you may need from your environment or relationships. Understanding yourself more fully can also make it easier to communicate your needs and develop boundaries that support your wellbeing.
When you've spent a long time adjusting yourself around other people, it can sometimes become difficult to recognise what feels comfortable or natural for you. You may be very aware of what other people expect while feeling less certain about your own needs, limits or preferences. Therapy can provide space to explore this gradually — noticing what takes energy, where you feel most comfortable being yourself and what matters to you, without expecting you to suddenly have all of those answers.
Yes. I work with young people from the age of 11, including neurodivergent young people and those who may be exploring or awaiting assessment. Therapy can be adapted to the individual young person, taking into account how they communicate, process information and feel most comfortable engaging. Our work might explore experiences such as anxiety, overwhelm, difficult emotions, friendships, rejection sensitivity, confidence, self-esteem or developing a greater understanding of themselves.