My Specialisms

Neurodivergence

I have personal experience of neurodivergence, and so I understand the challenges facing many with neurodivergent characteristics and diagnoses. Social stress, workplace challenges (inability to work), sensory overload and sensitivity, cognitive burnout, masking and ‘passing’, shame and self-blame, feeling alien and ‘wrong’ in a neurotypical world. I am also aware of current research on the plasticity of the brain and the malleability of neurodivergent characteristics, and so I won’t treat you as broken or incapable of change. Neurodivergent conditions are real and must be affirmed, and exploring your experience and your relationship to your condition can help you cope, grow, and develop your strengths in ways that may help you navigate life with new skills and tools.

Long-term and chronic health conditions

My own experience of long-term health challenges (over more than 20 years) has given me valuable insight into what it’s like to live with a condition that limits your choices and your opportunities. I can support you to think about how you are now, to find acceptance, compassion for yourself, and to begin to put in place strategies that may lead to new ways of approaching your emotional, physical, and spiritual life (if that is meaningful for you).

The arts, music, creatives

As a creative artist and former literary editor, I have intimate experience of the challenges that people working in the arts and creative industries at every level often face:

• Stress and burnout.

• Creative blocks.

• Self-esteem, self-criticism, harsh self-talk, chronic lack of confidence.

• The sting in the tail when success comes – ‘imposter syndrome’ and dissociation (feeling of unreality).

• Coping with failure – crises of identity, grief and acceptance, letting go of old ideas of the self, moving on.

 Creative work is demanding, and can reveal dimensions of yourself that can be challenging, painful, and distressing. A sympathetic therapist can help you understand, explore, and resolve the issues that may arise as you move through your creative journey.