Cathartic Collaborations

27/10/2025

Healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about coming home to yourself.

This episode dives deep into the connection between neurodivergence and trauma—and how we can shift from survival into safety.

We talk about:

🌀 The power of “safe but uncomfortable” spaces

🌀 Why talk therapy isn’t always the answer

🌀 Somatic and sensory-based tools for real regulation

🎙️ Listen now: Link in bio.

26/10/2025

✨ Grounded confidence isn’t about being louder or smaller — it’s standing tall without shrinking.

For gifted people, that means recognising your brilliance isn’t arrogance, it’s a gift. 🌱

In Australia, Tall Poppy Syndrome often teaches gifted kids and adults to hide their light — to downplay, minimise, or mask so others don’t feel uncomfortable.

💡 I explore this in my latest blog post: link in bio.

23/10/2025

Super excited to announce that my episode with .zoe Neurodivergent Pulse podcast is out!

Challenging neuronormativity: Why the old rules don't fit.

Check it out!

22/10/2025

Reflections from the Neurodivergent Minds Conference

What an incredible few days surrounded by some of the most passionate, wise, and authentic humans I’ve ever met. 💛

✨ Vera, seeing you on that panel made my heart swell with pride — your growth, courage, and ability to share your story with such depth is truly inspiring.

✨ Cammy, the atmosphere you created was pure magic — a space filled with resonance, compassion, and that collective sigh of understanding. Thank you for making it feel safe to show up fully.

✨ Laetitia, your passion and vision are contagious — I’m so grateful for our connection and the energy you bring into every conversation.

✨ Emily, your research on puberty and ADHD is so needed — it was a joy to share ideas, nerd out together, and witness your genuine care for this work.

✨ Rachel, your session on nature-based therapy reminded me how many ways we can support neurodivergent clients beyond words — through connection, movement, and the rhythms of the natural world.

And to my neurodivergent friends and colleagues, thank you for holding me through the sensory swirl and emotional vulnerability of presenting. Your presence, laughter, and quiet solidarity mean everything.

I love being able to share my lived experience with fellow neurodivergent therapists — to touch hearts, spark ideas, and embrace the beautiful organised chaos that is my delivery style. Because that’s the magic: we connect not through polish, but through presence.

Here’s to community, courage, and the collective brilliance that happens when neurodivergent voices are heard and honoured.

21/10/2025

Super excited to announce that my episode with .zoe Neurodivergent Pulse is out!

Challenging neuronormativity: Why the old rules don't fit.

Check it out!

20/10/2025

Today’s the day 🌿

🎙 Presenting at Neurodivergent Minds Conference 2025

I’m holding years of unspoken truths and the ache of never quite seeing yourself in the therapy textbooks.

And I’m choosing to speak anyway.

When Lived Experience Speaks is not just my presentation title. It’s a reminder.

That our stories are valid.

That our presence is enough.

That we can be both healer and human — without splitting ourselves in two.

However you show up today — messy, curious, cautious — I see you. I’m with you.

20/10/2025

This episode explores the powerful overlap between neurodivergence and trauma, and what true safety can feel like—physically, emotionally, and relationally.

We unpack:

🌀 Why discomfort isn’t always danger

🌀 How somatic approaches can bypass overwhelm

🌀 What healing looks like when we stop forcing and start listening

🎙️ Listen now: Link in bio.

19/10/2025

✨ When lived experience speaks, something shifts.

I’m honoured to be presenting at this year’s Neurodivergent Minds Conference, surrounded by voices reshaping how we understand neurodivergence in practice, in systems, and in story.

My talk, “When Lived Experience Speaks: Ethical and Embodied Self-Disclosure of Neurodivergence in Therapy” invites a gentle questioning:

💭 What does it mean to be both therapist and neurodivergent?
💭 How can self-disclosure support the therapeutic process?
💭 What if embodiment itself is the evidence base?

This is not a talk about disclosure policies. It’s a conversation about presence, power, and the poetry of being fully seen.

If you’re attending — come say hello!

16/10/2025

For many neurodivergent folks, therapy hasn’t always felt safe.

We’ve masked. We’ve been misread.

We’ve sat in rooms where the focus was on “fixing” rather than understanding.

That’s why metatherapeutic communication matters so deeply.

Metatherapeutic communication is a kind of dialogue that zooms out —
not just what we’re talking about, but how we’re talking about it.

It invites us to co-create the space itself:

✨ What do you need from therapy?
✨ How do you want to work together?
✨ What’s feeling useful — or not quite right?

It centres you. Your voice. Your rhythm. Your way of relating.

For neurodivergent clients, this can be a quiet revolution:

🌱 Talking openly about pacing, scripting, shutdowns, or sensory needs.
🌱 Naming the moments where something doesn’t land — and being heard.
🌱 Adapting how we do therapy to honour your communication style and autonomy.

This isn’t a bonus feature — it’s foundational.

🌀 Because when the process fits you, the work deepens.

Metatherapeutic communication helps us move beyond one-size-fits-all models and into something more honest, more flexible, more human.

If therapy has ever felt like a place where you had to perform or over-explain —
you deserve better.

Let’s build spaces where your preferences shape the process — not the other way around.

16/10/2025

I am super grateful that I was interviewed for this ABC News article written by Mark du Potiers (bio below).

Quotes:

Caitlin Hughes, who is an accredited mental health worker with the Australian Association of Social Workers, says a lot of people fly under the radar because they don't display the outward behaviours often associated with ADHD.

Mrs Hughes says living with ADHD can sometimes feel "like herding cats", and many "stim" to deal with feeling overwhelmed or mask to meet expectations.

Link to full article in comments...

Mark du Potiers from Brisbane is a visual artist. He openly shares his experiences with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) burnout and the challenges of living with an invisible disability. His works show how culture, identity, race, gender, and sexuality crossroads with ADHD, bringing much-needed visibility to marginalized communities.

16/10/2025

I am super grateful that I was interviewed for this ABC News article written by Mark du Potiers (bio below).

Quotes:

Caitlin Hughes, who is an accredited mental health worker with the Australian Association of Social Workers, says a lot of people fly under the radar because they don't display the outward behaviours often associated with ADHD.

Mrs Hughes says living with ADHD can sometimes feel "like herding cats", and many "stim" to deal with feeling overwhelmed or mask to meet expectations.

Mark du Potiers from Brisbane is a visual artist. He openly shares his experiences with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) burnout and the challenges of living with an invisible disability. His works show how culture, identity, race, gender, and sexuality crossroads with ADHD, bringing much-needed visibility to marginalized communities.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-16/what-is-adhd-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-diagnosis/105843020

October marks Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) awareness month and the focus this year is on the many faces of the neurological condition.

14/10/2025

ADHD medication isn’t a “shortcut.”

It’s one way of bridging the inequities created by neuronormative systems that reward regulation, focus, and consistency as moral virtues.

Access to medication is still shaped by privilege — who gets believed, supported, and sustained.

Equity means more than awareness, it means removing barriers to support and care.