Autism Counselling and Neurodivergent Counselling for Adults
A Calm, Grounding Space Where You Don’t Have to Mask or Explain Yourself
I offer autism counselling and neurodivergent counselling for teenagers and adults, including self identification, who want a space that feels safe, gentle, and genuinely understanding. If you’re looking for a therapist for neurodivergent adults who works in an affirming, non judgemental way, you are very welcome here.
Many people searching for neurodivergent therapists tell me they’ve had experiences in therapy where they felt misunderstood or dismissed, pressured to mask, analysed instead of supported, told their emotions were “too much”, or expected to fit into a therapeutic model that didn’t reflect their lived experience.
My approach is different. I offer neurodivergent affirming counselling that is warm, trauma informed, and shame free. Sessions are flexible, sensory aware, and shaped around you, your pace, your communication style, and your needs. You are welcome to come exactly as you are, without masking, without performing, and without needing everything to be “neat”.
All sessions are online, COSCA accredited, and designed to reduce overwhelm and create a sense of grounding.
Understanding Neurodivergent Lived Experience
Being autistic, AuDHD, or otherwise neurodivergent often means spending a long time trying to make sense of your inner world while navigating environments that weren’t built for your brain, body, or sensory system. Many of the experiences neurodivergent people carry are deeply human responses, not flaws.
You might recognise yourself in masking to stay safe or fit in, social or emotional exhaustion from trying to be “on”, burnout cycles that seem to come from nowhere, or sensory overwhelm from sounds, smells, textures, or visual intensity.
You may notice hyperfocus followed by shutdown or avoidance, strong emotional waves or delayed emotional processing, difficulty identifying internal states, or the confusion and clarity that can come with late identification. For many, there’s also perfectionism, overthinking, people pleasing, struggling to balance routine and flexibility, navigating communication differences in relationships, and pressure to appear “fine” even when you’re not.
These aren’t personal failures. They’re lived experiences shaped by processing the world deeply and differently. My focus is to create a space where all of this is understood, validated, and explored gently.
How Autism Counselling and Neurodivergent Counselling Can Help
My work in adhd and autism counselling isn’t about fixing you. It’s about supporting you to understand yourself more fully, soften old patterns of shame, and build a life that honours your neurotype rather than working against it.
Together, we might explore identity and self understanding, what it means to be autistic or AuDHD, unmasking safely at a pace that feels right, and emotional regulation when overwhelm feels close to the surface. We can work with shutdowns and recognising early warning signs, the impact of past misattunement or chronic invalidation, sensory awareness and how your environment affects your nervous system, and autistic or ADHD burnout.
There is also space to explore transitions, rebuilding trust in yourself, relationships and boundaries, and navigating work, sport, or daily life while truly honouring your needs. This is the heart of counselling here, a space where your experience is met with care, not correction.
My Approach as a Therapist for Neurodivergent Adults
As a therapist for neurodivergent adults, I work integratively, drawing from person centred and psychodynamic counselling, held in a deeply neurodivergent affirming and trauma aware way. We move at your pace, not at the pace of a model or expectation. There is no pressure to speak quickly, articulate neatly, or reach conclusions before you’re ready.
Because many neurodivergent people have experienced trauma through lifelong invalidation, misunderstanding, or bullying, I hold this work gently. We allow silence. We take our time. Your nervous system guides the pace, not the clock.
Sessions are sensory aware and movement friendly. You’re welcome to stim, shift position, lie down, look away, move around, or turn your camera off. You can bring blankets, fidgets, or anything that helps you feel grounded. Communication can be direct, slow, minimal, visual, or somewhere in between, whatever feels natural.
My role is to be alongside you, not above you. We collaborate, check in, and explore patterns together rather than me analysing you from a distance. This is a space built on safety, autonomy, and compassion.
Supporting ADHD and Autism Counselling Together
If you’re AuDHD, you may experience the urgency and restlessness of ADHD alongside the depth, sensitivity, and need for predictability that often comes with being autistic. This dual experience can create a constant push pull, wanting stimulation but becoming overwhelmed, craving routine but struggling to maintain it, moving fast internally but feeling stuck externally.
My approach to adhd and autism counselling honours this complexity without trying to simplify or fix it. Counselling offers space to explore burnout, transitions, identity, motivation cycles, and the complexity of balancing conflicting internal rhythms.
Who Autism and Neurodivergent Counselling Can Support
This counselling can support you if you’re navigating emotional intensity, overwhelm, shutdowns, or burnout, making sense of a late identification, or exploring identity shifts.
It may feel right if rejection sensitivity, anxiety, perfectionism, or harsh self criticism shape your everyday life, or if you’re struggling with boundaries, communication differences, and people pleasing in relationships.
This is also a space for sensory overload, chronic fatigue, and the emotional impact of being misunderstood at work, in sport, in friendships, or within family life.
All of this sits comfortably within autism counselling and neurodivergent counselling, without pathologising or minimising your experience.
What Sessions Are Like in Neurodivergent Counselling
Sessions are held online and last 50 minutes. They are flexible, spacious, and adapted to your sensory and emotional needs.
You’re welcome to keep your camera off, move, pause, stim, or take time finding words. There is no pressure to make eye contact or sit still. Some sessions may feel gently structured, others more open and exploratory. Both are welcome.
The pacing is collaborative and consent based. My priority is that the space feels safe, calm, and grounding. This is online neurodivergent counselling and autism counselling for adults designed to reduce overwhelm and increase comfort.
Training and background
Postgraduate Diploma in Person-Centred and Psychodynamic Counselling (University of Edinburgh, COSCA-accredited)
BA (Hons) Psychology with Sociology (Edinburgh Napier University).
Clinical placements at Health in Mind, ESMS Schools, and the West End Therapy Centre, working with a diverse range of clients and presenting issues.
My ethos
Counselling with me is collaborative, validating, and grounded in respect. I aim to create a space where you can show up as you are, without masking or performing.
I believe healing begins when you feel truly understood. Through presence, empathy, and our therapeutic relationship, I support you to make sense of your experiences and build a kinder, more accepting relationship with yourself.
Fees
My fee is £70 per 50-minute counselling session.
Get Started
Sessions are held online for accessibility and comfort. You can book a free 15-minute consultation to explore whether counselling feels right for you.
Autism Counselling and Neurodivergent Counselling FAQs
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Autism counselling and neurodivergent counselling offer a supportive, affirming space for autistic and neurodivergent adults to explore emotions, experiences, identity, and challenges. This approach does not try to fix or change your neurodivergence, but works with your brain and nervous system in a way that feels respectful and understanding.
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This counselling is for autistic and neurodivergent teenagers and adults, including AuDHD clients and those who self identify as neurodivergent. You do not need a formal diagnosis to access support.
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No. Many people seek autism counselling or adhd and autism counselling while waiting for an assessment, self identifying, or simply recognising themselves in neurodivergent experiences. You are welcome regardless of diagnosis.
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Neurodivergent counselling is sensory aware, mask aware, and affirming. Sessions adapt to your communication style, emotional needs, and pace, rather than expecting you to fit a standard therapeutic model.
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No. My role as a therapist for neurodivergent adults is not to fix you. The work focuses on understanding yourself, reducing shame, supporting your nervous system, and helping you build a life that fits you more kindly.
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There is no set number. Some people come for short-term support, while others work longer-term. This is something we can explore together, with regular check-ins to ensure the therapy continues to meet your needs.
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You can book a free 15-minute consultation or enquire directly via the contact form. Reaching out is the first step, and you are welcome to take it at your own pace.