Finding a therapist who understand your particular neurotype can be a daunting task, but at The Cozy Counseling we have several therapists who truly understand you and what you are going through. They all have a slightly different lens and population that they work with so let’s get into what to look for when you are searching for a therapist for neurodivergence.
Challenging, But Compassionate
One of the main things that defines a neurotype is a different way of processing. Whether it’s sensory information, audio processing, or emotional comprehension, being neurodivergent comes with a set of challenges navigating the world around us. We need to speak with therapists and caretakers who are both compassionate and challenging. Compassionate–because we first need gentleness enough to be able to drop our walls and masks to allow for real authentic being. However, we also need a therapist who challenges us–because often we cannot see how our neuortype affects our lives, and how to both work with it, and to understand how it holds us back.
A Space Where We Can be Our Authentic Selves
We are coming from an external social world that doesn’t make space for us or care for us very often. A lot of us are in burn-out: a state of extreme fatigue where very little gets done. We need a space where we can drop the masks and be our true selves, even if that self is hurting, tired, and too much.
Knowledgeable About Your Brain.
While each neurotype is different, there are similarities that allow for us to understand ADHD or Autism as diagnoses. A therapist who has studied the way your brain works can be more empathic and helpful in you reaching your goals. It can be exhausting to explain over and over again how our brains work, and in a vulnerable relationship like the therapeutic relationship, it’s important that we don’t have to justify or explain ourselves in more detail than we want to or need to.
Able to Understand Executive Functioning Skills
While this also falls under number 3, we felt it was worth mentioning on its own because of the level of importance. Often, neurodivergent people come to therapy not only for emotional support but for help with executive functioning. If your therapist has training in executive functioning for your neurotype, this can add an extra level of care.
Understands Social and Economic Barriers
Often, things like work and navigating work and social relationships can be very difficult for neurodivergent people, making it harder to earn money, maintain a job, and earn a living. Because of this difficulty, price is often a barrier to care. If this is the case for you, ask your potential therapist if they can offer a sliding scale to help make up for the economic and financial difficulty.
These are a few of the things we think will help you to choose a great therapist for yourself as a neurodivergent person. We offer some great options at The Cozy Couch Counseling. Our therapists Maddie, Bonnie, Jeff, and Leah all specialize in neurodivergence.
