About Rachel, ADHD and Autism Counsellor, UK-Wide Online

Why I do this work

I became a therapist after years of being the person everyone else brought their real stuff to: in my HR career, in friendships, long before I had a professional title for any of it. I did a psychology degree because I've always been fascinated by what makes people tick, and trained as a counsellor while that fascination turned into something far more personal.

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While I was training, more and more neurodivergent people found their way into my HR caseload, around the same time I was exploring my own child's suspected autism. Soon after their diagnosis, I started looking harder at my own neurodivergence too, and was diagnosed with ADHD myself.

 

Trying to find the right support for both of us, I kept running into counselling that didn't fit: approaches that left my child feeling more shame and guilt when they couldn't do what was being asked of them, not less.

I realised I'd spent my whole life quietly building my own systems and workarounds to cope with everyday life, without ever calling them that, and had begun to do the same for my child. When I started offering those same kinds of practical tools to my clients, alongside a neuro-affirming approach which helped clients accept that they are not broken, just wired differently, it actually helped.

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ADHD and autism counselling for clients who are done pretending to be normal

I mostly work with women in their late 20s to 40s who are exploring or have recently received an ADHD diagnosis, often alongside autism. Many have walked this path with one of their own children first, and are only now turning that same understanding onto themselves. I also work with young adults aged 18 and over navigating ADHD, autism or AuDHD, as they move into the next stage of their life such as leaving home or starting university.

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Most of the clients I work with are exhausted: from masking at work, from people-pleasing at home, terrified that if they stop performing "normal," people will think they're too much, or simply walk away. Underneath the tiredness there's often a quiet belief that they're not good enough, even though everyone around them sees someone capable and reliable.

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If any of that sounds familiar, you're in the right place.

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What neuro-affirming counselling means to me

Being neurodivergent is no better or worse than being neurotypical: it is not a problem or a deficit to be fixed or cured, it is a different neurotype, in the same way that some people have green eyes, and some have brown.

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Neuro-affirming care means we look at both your strengths and your challenges in life, and find ways to work with them that suit who you are as an individual. We are not here to change who you are: you are exactly who you are supposed to be. But we can look at tools and accommodations at home and at work that may help you accept who you are, mask less, feel more comfortable in your own skin, feel more regulated, and get the most out of your life.  For more information on where I work from, please click the button below:

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What matters to me in therapy

I want you to feel fully accepted exactly as you are, not as a problem to be managed. Reducing shame, fear and guilt sits right at the centre of how I work: you should be able to say anything in a session, however taboo you think it is, without fear of judgement.

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I'm open about my own experience of ADHD, and supporting an autistic young person, and I'll occasionally share something from my own life if it might help something click into place for you.

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What it's like working with me

Expect safety, honesty, a bit of humour, and no jargon you haven't asked for. I weave in some neuroscience and practical, body-based tools alongside straightforward conversation: whatever's useful. We'll go at your pace, and I won't rush you.

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When things get serious, I will sit with you and support you. Counselling can be tough going at times, sometimes painful, and I know that from my own experience of being on the other side of it. But you'll always be fully supported while we work through it, and won't have to carry things alone in the room.

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Sessions are online only, currently via Zoom, so you can work with me from wherever you are in the UK. For more information on what a session might look like, please see my blog "You've Made Contact - So what Happens Next?"

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​​My training, experience and registration

Everything I do sits behind a BSc Honours degree in Psychology, a CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Studies (Humanistic, Person-Centred), a CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies, and a CPCAB Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills, alongside specialist autism, ADHD and AuDHD training from The Inside of Autism Membership and Free2BMe Neurodiversity Training.

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I'm a BACP Registered Member, registration number 399996, which means my practice is held to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's ethical framework.

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Is this the right fit for you?

I'm not the right counsellor for you if you're looking for someone to hand you weekly homework or tell you what to do: that's just not how I work. I don't claim to be a clinical expert in neurodivergence, but it's my genuine passion, backed by both professional training and a lot of lived experience in my own family.

I don't offer phone or email counselling, only sessions online. I'm informal by nature, so if you're after a more formal, expert-at-a-distance kind of therapist, I probably won't be the right match. I'm also a proud LGBTQIA+ ally, and nothing you bring to a session is off-limits.

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If this sounds like the kind of support you've been looking for, you're welcome to book a free, no-obligation 15-minute Zoom consultation to see how it feels to talk to me, with no pressure to commit to anything further. Please use the "Book Here" button at the top of this page to make an appointment.

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