The Neurodivergent Difference in Therapy
Have you heard the term Neurodivergence? It describes the variety of ways that brains process, sense and communicate to the world. Being Neurodivergent means that the way you think, express yourself and show up in relationships is outside of societal expectations of Neurotypicals, or people who function within these expectations. You might often hear Autism and ADHD discussed in conversations about neurodivergence, but it is an umbrella term for many types of conditions such as Dyslexia, Tourette’s, and Misophonia. There are also acquired neurodivergences such as CPTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury which are not in born, rather resulting from physical and/or psychological trauma. Although each condition is different, they often share many of the same traits and consequently lead to similar consequences when trying to fit into a neurotypical world.
What is your experience as a Neurodivergent?
Whether you have been formally diagnosed or suspect that you are neurodivergent, you have sensed all of your life that you were different. This difference might have been related to social interactions, learning, communication, sensory experiences to name a few. You learned early on to pretend in order to fit in and feel safe. You were probably praised by parents, friends, teachers and even therapists the more you pretended and the more you suppressed your true nature to be like others.
You deserve better.
You deserve to be loved for who you truly are, even if it is different. You should have been taught how to navigate this difficult world using YOUR strengths, not the strengths others expected you to have. You should have received support when you were struggling in ways that others couldn’t understand.
Our mental health system approach to neurodivergence has failed so many. You might have been subjected to thousands of hours of Applied Behavioral Anlysis (ABA) aimed at training you like an animal to act in a way that is “acceptable”. You might have experienced hours of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) aimed at invalidating your experience of the world and changing it to be “healthier”.
You deserve love and support.
You get to define your own goals and use whatever accommodations and supports work for YOU.
What does Neurodivergent Affirming therapy mean?
My goal as a therapist is to support who you are as a person, without judgement or comparison. We will take the time to learn about you and uncover the parts of yourself that haven’t felt safe to express. My job is to validate your life experiences so that you can start to accept and even appreciate your “quirks” and differences. You lead the conversation. You decide what your goals are and I will support you in attaining them. I incorporate any accommodations that would make you feel more comfortable in session.
How I support my clients:
Use of text feature of telehealth if/when speaking isn’t comfortable.
As many appointment reminders to as many emails or text messages to help you remember your appointment.
Whiteboard and screen sharing features to use any media you’d like to share as self expression.
Self scheduling from the portal, text communication to avoid phone calling if you so choose.
No charge for late cancelled appointments if you reschedule in the same week.
Anything else that is individual to you!