What Is Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy?
If you’ve ever felt like therapy doesn’t fit the way your brain works, you’re not alone, and you’re not imagining it. In fact, many traditional approaches expect people to conform to neurotypical standards. As a result, if you’re neurodivergent, therapy can quickly become not only frustrating but also deeply invalidating.
However, neurodivergent-affirming therapy takes a different approach. Instead of trying to “fix” you, this perspective begins with the belief that you are not broken. Your brain simply works differently, and that difference genuinely deserves understanding, respect, and support.
Neurodivergent-affirming therapy is different. It starts from the belief that there’s nothing wrong with you. Your brain just works differently, and that difference deserves understanding, respect, and support, not fixing.
So what does “neurodivergent” mean?
Neurodivergent is a term that includes things like ADHD, Autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other cognitive and processing differences. It’s not a medical label or a diagnosis, it’s a way of describing brain-based diversity. And just like biodiversity, it’s something that adds value to the world.
What does “affirming” actually look like in therapy?
Neurodivergent-affirming therapy doesn’t just offer a new technique; instead, it provides a completely different lens for understanding your experience.
Rather than pathologising your journey or focusing on what’s “wrong” or “impaired,” I work alongside you to understand your story, notice your strengths, and appreciate how you’ve adapted within environments that weren’t built for your brain. As we move forward together, our work centres on your unique needs and ways of being.
As a result, this approach means:
You set the pace: Together, we co-create a space that works for you, adjusting as your needs change.
We explore without judgement: Whether you’re dealing with masking, burnout, shame, or grief, you’ll find acceptance here.
Your lived experience stays central: You won’t have to fit into anyone else’s box.
We stay strengths-focused: Your creativity, sensitivity, hyperfocus, or sense of justice aren’t just side-notes; instead, they are core parts of the work we do together.
We consider the bigger picture: We look at the system around you, not just the self, recognising that many “struggles” result from ableist norms and lack of support, not personal failure.
Ultimately, neurodivergent-affirming therapy honours your story, validates your experience, and supports you in ways that feel genuinely empowering.
It’s also deeply relational.
Being met with curiosity, respect, and presence, rather than correction or diagnosis – can be a healing experience in itself. Many of us grew up feeling too much, too messy, or not enough. Therapy shouldn’t reinforce that.
In a neurodivergent-affirming space, you don’t have to mask or explain away who you are. There’s room to pause, to feel, to get curious, and to start making sense of things in a way that feels right for you.
A note on diagnosis
For some people, a diagnosis is incredibly validating. For others, it’s confusing or comes with mixed emotions.
Wherever you are with it, just exploring, newly diagnosed, or processing it years on – you’re welcome here. We’ll go at your pace.
Final thoughts
This approach isn’t about pretending it’s all easy. It’s about being real, about the challenges and the beauty of being wired differently. It’s about working with your brain, not against it. And above all, it’s about finding ways to live more fully and authentically, on your terms.
If any of this resonates, I’d love to walk alongside you.