ADHD counselling and psychotherapy brimingham

Exploring your autistic experience: how counselling and psychotherapy can support you on your journey

Being Autistic can create unique challenges when it comes to therapy. I’m an Autistic and ADHD integrative therapeutic counsellor and I work with many autistic and ADHD clients (as well as neurotypical clients). My own journey as an autistic and ADHD person has really impacted my journey as a therapist and counsellor.
While there is more understanding than ever about the ways that neurodivergence can present differently in different populations, this doesn’t mean we struggle any less as we try to understand the world and our experience within it. While autism may not be your main reason for coming to therapy, your autistic experience can lead to the same struggles we experience in the world being replicated within the therapy room.

Neurodiversity-affirming counselling and therapy for autism

Counselling can be a really helpful space to explore, process and understand your experience. For many of us who are autistic, going to therapy means navigating a world that’s designed for neurotypical people. As I said in this post, where I talked about ADHD and therapy, everything we know about psychology is based on western-centric, neuro-normative and pathologising perspectives and understandings. Our understanding of psychology is rooted in the the white, western and non-disabled experience. This can mean not being understood by therapists and counsellors who don’t have a in depth understanding of the autistic experience.

In the past I’ve had experiences with therapists and counsellors where my experiences have been minimised, misunderstood and where I’ve been made to feel wrong. Educating a therapist about our experience as disabled people can be exhausting. This is where neurodiversity-affirming counselling can be really empowering. Exploring our experiences in a neurodiversity affirming therapeutic relationship helps us to find acceptance and compassion for our selves and the unique ways we work.

In my role as a counselor and therapist, I've worked with la number of clients with autism and ADHD. Their journeys always reflect aspects of my own and I feel immensely grateful to support them to explore themselves and their experiences. Having been an ADHD and autistic client who felt unseen in therapy, I am committed to creating a safe and afirming environment for my autistic clients. While autism might not be your main reason for seeking counseling, it undeniably influences your experience in the world.

Counselling and psychotherapy for autistic people: safety and the relationship

Whether you’re neurodivergent or neurotypical, two elements underpin any counselling relationship: trust and safety. I approach my work as a partnership. I recognise that each of my clients has their own unique needs so it’s important to me that our work together reflects this. Check-ins, accommodations, and making sure that therapy works for you is a huge part of the process. Part of this is the recognition that our autistic experiences, sensitivities and needs shift and change.

While finding neurodiversity-affirming therapy doesn't necessarily mean working with a counsellor who is neurodivergent, my personal experience with autism and ADHD gives me a perspective that neurotypical therapists might not have. Part of making sure I work ethically means having regular clinical supervision. My clinical supervisor is also neurodivergent and their lived experience of neurodiversity offers an additional layer of support for my work with clients, whether neurodivergent or neurotypical, due to their deeper understanding of my perspective and process.

Counselling for autistic people: the process

The process of therapy will be different for every client. Autism and your autistic experience might be at the forefront of your decision to come to counselling or you might want to explore other issues. I talk about the ways I support my counselling clients here.

As I share in the page linked to above, I work in an integrative way that combines person-centered therapy, gestalt therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. I’m also a licensed mindfulness and meditation teacher and I incorporate meditation and neuroscience-based approaches. These practices not only provide support during therapy but also give you tools to use in your everyday life. My approach is always responsive to the person sitting in front of me and we’ll explore this process together. Counselling is not something I do to you, or that you do alone with me as a facilitator. It’s a collaboration and we’re in it together.

Working with me as your counsellor

You’ll find everything you need to know about working with me as your counsellor and therapist here. As well as supporting you to explore your struggles around autism or the autistic experience, I work with grief, life transitions, relationships, relationship patterns and relationship dynamics, depression and low mood, anxiety and anxiety disorders and trauma. I currently work in person from Stirchley, Birmingham or I offer online counselling via Zoom.

I offer a 15 minute, no obligation introductory call where you can tell me about your reasons for coming to therapy and I can tell you a little bit more about my counselling approach and how we might work together. Please do get in touch here for a chat.