Serving Neurodivergent Adults in WA State
My clients are primarily neurodivergent adults (autistic, AuDHD, ADHD) who are navigating challenges that neurodivergent adults tend to encounter. This can look like:
chronic overwhelm or exhaustion
self-criticism
loneliness
difficulty in relationships and communication
people-pleasing behaviors
employment challenges
making sense of a late-life neurodivergent diagnosis
Very often, my clients have not worked with a neurodivergent therapist before, someone who truly “gets” them. That is where both my expertise and life experience come together and help my neurodivergent clients feel seen and cared for.
-
Neurodivergents often have different cognitive processing speeds and styles than neurotypicals. This may mean you need more time (hours, days) to answer a particular question, you may integrate change faster, need strategies provided visually, need me to stop talking while you take notes, and/or use more concrete language than figures of speech.
-
Neurodivergents tend to communicate differently than neurotypicals. They are often lateral thinkers which means they can be circumferential and tangential and provide a lot of details, which means they need someone with strong listening skills and abilities to track information. They also need support for this communication style rather than criticism or correction.
-
Neurodivergent people feel and express emotions differently. Some (particularly ADHDers) can be quick to experience and express emotion in big ways, they may cry easily, and/or get easily overwhelmed by emotion - a non-pathological view and patience is important in supporting this style.
Some neurodivergents (particularly autistics) may have difficulty sensing and assessing their emotions, and may come across as flat or incongruent to the situation (e.g. laugh at unusual times). They may not show emotion in their faces. They need support that is attuned to subtlety and who don’t misinterpret this presentation as depression or not caring.
-
Neurodivergents often have different values to neurotypicals, which can inadvertently lead to misunderstandings, hurt, and loneliness in relationships with neurotypicals. For example, many neurodivergents value autonomy, fairness, authenticity, and deep communication. Whereas neurotypicals may value relational bonding rituals and harmony, being polite, and engage in lighter communication. It is important not to pathologize these differences, and have insight into the consequences of these differences in a neurotypical world.
To understand more how we will work together, it can be helpful to view neurodivergence and neurotypicalness as distinct cultures - that is how different they can actually be. As a therapist for neurodivergent people, I need to be able to communicate and connect in ways that are appropriate to their culture, be able to consider their issues in their cultural context, and guide them using culturally relevant ways. I intentionally use a telehealth format so that we both have the comfort of being in our own spaces, to reduce the load of travel and transitions, and to reduce social and sensory demands, all of which allows clients to jump right into the work with more focus and resilience.
