Whether you are new to counselling or have never worked with a therapist who shares your identities, starting this process can be hard. Let me tell you more about what you can expect.
Who do I work with?
Most of my clients are high masking, late-diagnosed, and self-diagnosed individuals who are either recovering from an autistic burnout or wish to avoid an impending burnout in the future. They want to learn more about demands (PDA) and the role they play in our daily lives. They may want to better understand how chronic impulsivity, depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, OCD, disordered eating, self-harm, and suicidality manifest for them and how to navigate it with compassion and openness. They may seek to accept their plurality and learn how it connects with their neurodivergent self-concept. Many of my clients are survivors of abuse and carry a lot of trauma that they want to process through and heal. Above all, my clients are on a deep self-discovery journey aimed at accepting themselves as they are.
Here’s my approach
My work is centered all around fostering connection and I prioritize three types of connection: connection to ourselves, connection to our support systems, and connection to our communities.
To facilitate your connection to yourself, I focus on cultivating your inner strengths and capabilities while addressing any negative self-talk, shame, guilt, and self-doubt through interventions based on self-compassion and tending to all parts of ourselves. Additionally, I provide psychoeducation about the impact that neurodevelopmental differences may have on the way we connect to ourselves, and help you gain insight into ways to celebrate and embrace our unique bodies and minds.
In strengthening your connection to your support systems, I help you view your relationships through an attachment-based lens, focusing on meeting your emotional needs and building healthy connections with your friends and loved ones. This may involve exploring patterns of communication, addressing relational challenges, and developing strategies for building and maintaining supportive relationships. I also incorporate a neurodivergence lens into our discussions, considering how neurodevelopmental differences may impact your connections with others, and exploring ways to navigate and embrace our neurodivergence in relationships.
Furthermore, I strive to help you connect to your community by providing guidance on how to engage with and seek support from the larger world around you. This may include identifying and accessing specific resources tailored to your needs, such as support for gender transition, exploring sexuality, or learning about neurodivergence. I can also assist you in developing a larger network of support and fostering a sense of belonging and connection to your broader social environment.
What to expect in your first session
When we meet, I will spend time to getting to know you better by delving into your unique experiences and needs. I’ll ask about your current challenges, previous counselling experiences, the individuals in your support system, and your daily experiences. Additionally, I’ll discuss your goals and what you hope to achieve through therapy.
If you’re uncertain about counselling and what to expect, I will explain how therapy works, discussing the confidentiality and ethical guidelines that govern our work together. We can also address practical matters such as scheduling, fees, and the cancellation/rescheduling process.
Our first meeting is an opportunity for us to establish a connection, foster trust, and lay the foundation for a therapeutic relationship that will contribute to your personal growth and well-being throughout our time together.
How many sessions will I need?
While the frequency and duration of therapy vary greatly based on your symptoms, current challenges, and individual needs, most of my clients prefer weekly or bi-weekly sessions for the duration of at least a year or longer.
Throughout the counselling process, we will regularly assess your goals and progress to ensure that the desired changes and outcomes are being achieved. This ongoing evaluation allows us to make necessary adjustments to the frequency or duration of sessions, tailoring them to best support your continuous mental well-being (e.g. increase the frequency of sessions during a particularly hard period of your life or decrease the frequency of sessions as we get closer to termination).
If you have any other questions or would like to get more information, please email me.
Ready to jump in?