Neurodiversity-Affirming Counselling Approach

My counselling approach stems from a place of acceptance, curiosity, respect, empowerment, and neurodiversity-affirming care.

Neurodivergence-Affirming

Neurodivergence-affirming care focuses on your unique strengths, needs, and ways of processing the world, instead of trying to change them or work against your natural functioning. It supports understanding, autonomy, and self-compassion, working with you to exist authentically and create a life that empowers you. This space is for you. You are welcome to show up as you are.

This looks like:

  • Honouring diverse communication styles (pauses, info-dumping, more thinking time, directness, etc.)

  • Aligning with individual strengths and functioning, not towards neuro-normative behaviour.

  • Welcoming stimming, movement, & any position your body feels good in sessions

  • Adding more structure or more flexibility in sessions

  • Rephrasing of questions to be clearer

  • Not expecting eye contact

  • Using modalities that fit you, not forcing ones that don’t

  • Emphasizing self-understanding, autonomy, and compassion

  • Flexible session formats (phone call, Zoom with cameras off, Zoom messaging)

Anti-Oppressive and Decolonial

I am committed to anti-oppressive practices and actively work to decolonize my practice and knowledge. I seek to recognize and address the systemic forms of oppression that impact neurodivergent people, as well as their intersectional experiences of marginalization, including race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and disability. We can’t have liberation or healing without integrating the systemic influences of our distress.

This looks like:

  • Learning to balance joy, softness, grief, anger, and action-taking

  • Centring your lived experience and cultural knowledge as expertise

  • Showing up as an AuDHD human myself

  • Welcoming feedback on my language and actions as a part of our work together

  • Creating a body- and sex- positive space where pleasure and all forms of intimacy and relational expression are welcome

  • Taking approaches beyond harmful Eurocentric colonial therapy and modalities

  • Knowing therapy is political and healing is collective

  • Honouring Indigenous, People of the Global Majority, and community-based ways of knowing

  • Actively reflecting on my own social location, privilege, biases, and knowledge

  • Using language that seeks to be inclusive, accessible, and trauma-informed

I specialize in

  • Autism

  • AuDHD

  • Queer & Trans experiences

  • Polyamory & non-monogamous relationships

  • Chronic illness

  • Burnout

  • Trauma

Therapeutic approaches I integrate

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Strengths-Based & Relational

  • Polyvagal Theory & Nervous-System Based

  • Existential Therapy

  • Somatic Therapy

  • Recently identified neurodivergence

  • Individuals questioning if they are Autistic or AuDHD

  • Unique lifestyles

  • Executive functioning