What do I mean when I say “I’m a neurodivergent therapist?”
I mean that I am a therapist who is neurodivergent.
I have lived with and around various types of neurodivergence all my life.
I received various diagnoses over the years at the ages of five, twelve and thirty-one.
At the time of writing, I am forty-nine. After four years of counselling, I can honestly now say that I am on my own side.
For most of my life, nearly all my adult life, I was angry about being neurodivergent. I resented it.
I felt like I had been dealt a bad hand by life, not able to function in the neurotypical way many friends could; not able to hold down a regular job for any length of time.
My ambition was thwarted by my capacity.
I share the fact that I am neurodivergent here because I would have chosen a neurodivergent therapist if they had advertised themselves as such.
I don’t share specifics of my diagnosis here on purpose. Those who need to know will ask and I will ask them why they need to know.
It is important for me to own it publicly to combat stigma, to take the power away from any shame I may still harbour and to indicate to others I know their struggle is real. There is help available from people who have lived experience of similar issues.
Respectfully,
Paul N.