Diversity & Neurodiversity

I am a diversity-affirmative practitioner, and am neurodivergent myself. Like many of my clients, I’ve experienced the normative forces within institutions, organizations and families, with their often ill-adapted structures and attitudes. Most of what I have learned, though, comes directly from the people I've worked with and what they have experienced regarding various aspects of who they are, including their sexuality, gender, ethnicity, neurodivergence, disability ...

 

In terms of how I work this means:

  • I will talk to you about your needs and any adjustments that might be helpful. We will then agree together what to put in place to help you feel comfortable working with me
  • I will work with you, as you are, including your neurology or any other aspect of your identity, not against you
  • The main area of much of my work is neurodiversity, but this principle of respect extends to all of the aspects of your identity that are important to you
  • Your own experience, history and your sense of yourself are more important than labels or assumptions about the issues you may come to me with
  • ADHD, autistic, or other neurodivergent traits are understood as differences—not disorders to "fix"
  • It's fine to stim, etc. So, it's less likely you'll feel the need to 'mask' or 'camouflage' with me
  • Your ways of thinking and communicating will be respected, whether direct, tangential, or non-linear
  • Sensory needs are accommodated (stimming, movement, camera-off are all fine)
  • Counselling and therapy can sometimes be experienced as 'challenging'. For instance, we may become aware of things that feel difficult. My aim, when things feel challenging, is to work in a way that feels helpful to the person, their well-being and their own chosen path forward

So, what is neurodivergence? The term is often used medically to refer to 'neurotypes' like ADHD, Autism Spectrum etc. That's where the idea of a diagnosis, 'disorder' or 'condition' is the main focus. This focus misses a lot and can be unhelpful because the neurotype may be seen just in terms of 'deficits' or problems. This is not just a matter of my wanting to be nice to people about there issues. It's just wrong. What neurdivergence actually means is that a person's brain functions or is structured in a way that is significantly different to a neurotypical person's brain - not necessarily worse. Each person's brain will have things that it is better at and things that its not so great at. Sometimes in order to have a skill in one area the payoff is that we're not so great in another area.

 

Neurotypical brains have limitations too, but these may be less visible socially as they are limitations and perspectives that will be shared more widely among neurotypical people. So, it's the neurodivergent person who comes across as most immediately 'different' and this difference is quite often not respected or valued.

 

Let me be clear, as a neurodivergent person myself, I have struggled with quite a few things - crowds, noise, harsh light, filtering stuff out, people getting too much in my space, sticking to plans ... but I've also been told that my way of thinking and communicating makes me a good teacher and a helpful therapist. I don't do 'death by PowerPoint' but try to engage with people in ways that work for them.

 

My engagement with neurodiversity began when I worked in university counselling services and found myself building and enjoying rich and collaborative counselling relationships with students who were trying to find their ways through the obstacle course of university life. How they could ‘tick the boxes’ and pass the course without losing their sense of who they were was often a big part of the work.

 

It would be wrong for me to say that difference and neurodiversity, my own included, don't present real challenges and difficulties in living and working in a world of inequality and prejudice. As with other forms of 'difference', neurodivergence can be experienced as part of my or your identity and there are aspects to this, often overlooked, that are the opposite of deficits or difficulties. Being able to acknowledge, value and engage with this is also often a core part of the work of therapy, counselling or coaching.

 

I aim to work with all of my clients in a respectful and empowering way, helping people to find their own way forward.