top of page
Writer's pictureJennifer Dodd

Why neurodivergents make great therapists

As a late diagnosed neurodivergent therapist, one of the first barriers I noticed was the fear of stigma, in discovering my neurotype. After clearing up a lot of the myths and misunderstandings I had about Autism and ADHD, I was able to recognize the things that actually made being a neurodivergent therapist such an asset.
Such as…

Our sensitivity! In fact, we’ve been called every version of sensitive our entire lives and have unpacked the shit out of what that means. We now realize it’s a gift and it’s one we share freely with our clients.

A brain that excels at pattern recognition. This gives us many therapeutic skills such as the ability to follow patterns and a keen sense of noticing subtle change and nuance, all of which we reflect back to you.

A clear, straightforward communication style…Enough said.

We know what it’s like to experience struggles with: executive dysfunction: burnout; overwhelm; discrimination, stigma and being othered, being misunderstood, misdiagnosed… You know, many of the things that people seek therapy for.

We are passionate about our interests and deep dive when learning new things. You can trust that we know our stuff.

Our creativity, ability to hyperfocus, our preference of deep connection over the superficial, our love of stories, processing styles that focus on all the details before making a conclusion…


None of these are meant to compare and contrast other neurotypes. In fact, that’s another reason neurodivergents make great therapists: we tend toward a strong ethic of fairness and a disinterest in hierarchy. We’re just not here for social rules aimed at ranking one another.
104 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page