Have you ever pondered about whether therapy might be helpful for you? Especially if you are neurodivergent?

Read on to find out if counselling could be for you.

Introduction

In this post, I will share with you a bit about my journey to becoming a therapist, my motivation for starting this career and reasons why therapy might benefit you.

In this day and age, unfortunately it’s not unheard of to feel overwhelmed, anxious and low about ourselves. Thankfully, there are a lot more options for support available. But with the influx of social media and information, it’s tricky to decide where to turn.

My Story

Early in my career, therapy was not on my radar at all. I actually have a background in law and at one point, I even became a DJ and then over time discovered that I was more comfortable in roles where I supported others, which lead me to life coaching.

I really love helping others work towards their desires and goals, but I often found my clients were getting stuck and going round in circles. I realised there might be more fundamental issues that needed deeper exploration and I wasn’t qualified to help them with this. I recognised a gap in my skillset so I decided to train as a therapist.

And I’ve never looked back!

Therapy has allowed me to really support others in seeking their authentic selves, together we have been able to access parts of them they didn’t realise were there. It really does require a deeper excavation into our core truths.

This work has also allowed me to spend time with some wonderful women who I’ve enjoyed getting to know in all their weird, wonderful and unique ways.

Having worked with many clients, including men and children, I feel particularly drawn to support neurodivergent women. Many of us have gone about our day-to-day challenges, undetected for years, feeling as though we are unable to appreciate ourselves fully for fear of rejection or shame.

I am so inspired to break down the barriers and stigma around how women are ‘allowed’ to show up in the world, and this includes those who identify as female and who are struggling to be accepted as such.

And when I’m not spending time with fabulous neurodivergent women, you can find me either in nature with my dog Biscuit, juggling motherhood, geeking out on documentaries or dancing to music while sipping on some blend of tea.

5 ways that therapy might help you:

So, let’s get stuck in shall we?

Some of these phrases might sound familiar to you:

“I am so tired and overwhelmed!”
“I don’t feel normal, I don’t feel like I belong here.”
“Why can’t I just get it right?”

Honestly, I hear your frustration. So here are some reasons why therapy might help change your mind about yourself.

1. It offers a space to offload

It’s hard to make sense of our thoughts and feelings when we are carrying them around constantly like heavy bags and boxes.

The counselling space can offer you the freedom to offload if you feel like:

you may not have anyone in your life who you feel safe enough to talk to.
there may be things that you have never been able to tell anyone for fear of being judged.
you feel guilty for taking up too much of someone’s time or burdening them.

This is what we’re here for.

2. It helps heal emotions, allowing you to grow

When we carry around emotions without processing them, over time they start to weigh on us and wear us down. Our society is not yet setup to embrace neurodivergent minds and so this results in much struggle for those who don’t feel like they fit into the mould.

You may be:

carrying old wounds or traumas that you’re unaware of and these may need to be explored or made sense of.
experiencing current struggles that might need space to unpack.
needing someone to acknowledge and hear how you feel in a way that is accepting and validating.

When we are able to learn and understand our emotions better, it allows us to understand parts of ourselves better so that we develop new insights and ways to support ourselves.

3. It improves relationships

When we work on ourselves, it can shift how others relate to us.

Therapy supports:

better communication.
more understanding of why we relate to people in the way that we do.
improved boundaries so that we can understand where we end and another person begins.

Neurodivergent women often struggle with boundaries and social nuances and this often leads to being misunderstood. Understanding our unique communication and processing styles allows us to work out how best to express our needs and understand those of others.

4. It helps you to learn to love your unique self

Thankfully, more and more neurodivergent people are finding ways to express their more authentic selves, yet there may still be parts of us that we are reluctant to embrace for many reasons.

Counselling can help you to:

appreciate your unique quirks and differences.
understand more about your desires, preferences, wishes and hopes.
explore and accept your limitations so that you may find ways to integrate these and work them to your advantage. By the way, we all have them, neurodivergent or not!
highlight and make the most of your strengths and personal talents.

Basically, it is ok to be you. We all have a reason for being, end of. This is where confidence comes from, an appreciation of your whole self, even in the face of criticism, whether it’s from yourself or from others.

5. It gives you tools to use in your day-to-day life

Finally, therapy is not just about sitting and talking about your feelings.

As an integrative therapist, I combine practical tools with a range of approaches to explore what is meaningful and of value to you, so that you can work through your areas of stuck-ness and gain new skills and tools to help manage your life outside of the therapy room.

Here are some examples:

Techniques to help ground when you are feeling anxious.
Ways to connect with and understand your feelings when you start to become overwhelmed.
How to set boundaries.
How to slow down a racing mind and start to organise your thoughts.

These are just some of the tools that I share in my counselling practice but there are many more and this is tailored to the individual’s needs.

Conclusion

As you can see, therapy is a powerful tool to support wellbeing.

There are many facets to this work and there is often an old pre-conceived notion that the therapist just sits and listens while you battle it out with your darkest deepest emotions. Not so. There is definitely dark and deep, but there is also some light and laughter. And some tips and inspiration.

So, I hope this blog has allowed you to get to know me a bit better and provided you with ways that counselling can help you.

If any of it intrigues, inspires or motivates you, why not find out more?

I’m currently taking on new clients and if you fancy a free 20 minute chat to explore whether this is something that could work for you, please get in touch! 💕

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Why I Became A Therapist: 5 Ways Counselling Can Help Neuro-divergent Women.