Autism
I first began working with young people with behavioural, emotional, and social difficulties (BESD) and those with special needs in 2004 at Ashburton Community School.
Since qualifying as a counsellor I have worked therapeutically both short term and long term with adults and young people affected by ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia. and BESD. Issues I have worked with include deep depression, anxiety, extreme stress, dissociation, self-harm, rape, and low self-esteem.
I have attended specialist training (including EMDR for ASD) and workshops related to this I work and have read widely on ASD. Apart from my work with neurodiverse children and teens, I have had a growing number of adult clients both male and female who are living with these conditions and find it difficult to navigate through anxiety provoking situations/relationships. My approach when counselling clients with ASD is much the same as counselling other clients and centres around exploring what is going on and ways in which to alleviate the problems. Please browse through my other pages to learn about issues I work with and my approach.
ADHD
Since May 2020 I have begun working with a growing number of clients with ADHD who were seeking a counsellor with experience of counselling clients who are neurodivergent. I do not profess to be an expert with ADHD, but I am happy for us to work together, and have found that a combination of EMDR, CBT and Coaching seems to work well.