Atypical Therapy

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Atypical Therapy

At Atypical therapy we specialize in supporting mental wellbeing for people who feel that they don?

Atypical therapy provides online group and individual therapy which strives to meet the needs of those impacted by the challenge's neurodiversity can present. This includes (but is not limited to) people who have ASD, ADD and Dyslexia and there family's. Neurodiversity describes the variety of ways human brains and minds work. When our specific needs are met appropriately, we are able to thrive. However, when our individual needs are not being met these differences can create challenges when we try to manage everyday life, this can have a negative impact on our mental health. Our therapists Cat and Zena have lived experience of the challenge's life can present with a neurodivers brain. We are passionate about providing a space where our clients can work through whatever is making their life difficult at the moment, as well as celebrating each individual's strengths. We are available for both individual and group work with adults and children (over seven). To find out more about our available sessions or to book a free consultation click here. If any of this sounds like you and you are looking for some professional therapeutic support with your mental wellbeing please get in touch. We are qualified counsellors with experience of working with both adults and children. We are registered members of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. To see a full list of our qualifications and Continued Professional Development click here

19/06/2023

🌟 Embracing the Power of Resilience 🌟

"Re-set, re-adjust, re-start, re-focus... As many times as you need to." - Unknown 🌿✨

🌻 Life is a journey filled with ups and downs, twists and turns. Along the way, we may stumble, face setbacks, or lose our way. But remember, that within us lies an incredible power - the power of resilience.

🌸 It's okay to hit the reset button. It's okay to take a step back, re-evaluate, and make necessary adjustments. It's okay to pause, breathe, and gather yourself before forging ahead on your path.

🌈 Life doesn't always go as planned, and that's where our strength lies - in our ability to adapt, learn, and grow. Each time we reset, we create an opportunity for a fresh start, a chance to realign with our dreams and desires.

✨ Embrace the freedom to restart, re-focus, and re-adjust as many times as you need to.
This is especially important for those of who are neurodivergent, who may face unique challenges in navigating the world. Trust yourself, have faith in your journey, and let resilience guide your way.

💪❤️

11/06/2023

🌿 Embracing Neurodivergence: A Journey Within 🌿

In a world filled with chaos and distractions, neurodivergent individuals seek peace of mind amidst unique challenges. It's an ongoing journey of self-discovery and understanding, guiding us to comfort and peace in our diverse minds.

🧘‍♀️✨ Peace of mind isn't conforming to norms, but embracing authenticity. Find solace within the experiences of different processing styles and experiences.

Achieving peace is not easy, especially when you have a bussie or anxious mind. Here is a reminder of a few tried and tested tips that can help in the pursuit of calm.

🌱 Let go of worries, embrace self-awareness in the present. Nurture with positive self-talk, replacing doubt with belief in your unique neurocognitive wiring.

💫 Embrace mindfulness and meditation. Still thoughts, observe experiences without judgment,. Discover peace within, celebrating strengths that come with neurodiversity.

🌻 Surround yourself with supportive community. Cultivate relationships that honour neurodiversity, engage in activities that embrace passions and unique engagement. Create a nurturing environment respecting diverse needs.

🌈 Remember, peace of mind as a neurodivergent individual is ongoing. It's not eradicating traits but developing strategies, resilience, self-advocacy. Trust the journey, be kind, and allow your neurodivergent path to unfold organically.

If you are looking for support to come to peace with the support of a neurodivergent therapist, send me a message to find out more about who I can help.

💛 #

05/06/2023

"Re-set, re-adjust, re-start, re-focus... As many times as you need to." - Unknown 🌿✨

🌻 Life is a journey filled with ups and downs, twists and turns. Along the way, we may stumble, face setbacks, or lose our way. But remember, that within us lies an incredible power - the power of resilience.

🌸 It's okay to hit the reset button. It's okay to take a step back, re-evaluate, and make necessary adjustments. It's okay to pause, breathe, and gather yourself before forging ahead on your path.

🌈 Life doesn't always go as planned, and that's where our strength lies - in our ability to adapt, learn, and grow. Each time we reset, we create an opportunity for a fresh start, a chance to realign with our dreams and desires.

✨ Embrace the freedom to restart, re-focus, and re-adjust as many times as you need to.

This is especially important for those of who are neurodivergent, who may face unique challenges in navigating the world. Trust yourself, have faith in your journey, and let resilience guide your way.

💪❤️

28/05/2023

Unlocking Motivation: Embracing Love and Overcoming Fear 💪❤️💡

Motivation can be challenging, especially for neurodivergent individuals. The overwhelming feeling and task paralysis often lead to procrastination and guilt. Our brains naturally gravitate towards familiar and easy tasks, seeking comfort. However, dopamine plays a vital role in initiating and sustaining motivation when facing challenging tasks.

❤️ Passion Propels Us: It's effortless to get started when we're driven by love, such as pursuing a special interest or working on a passion project. The fire within us ignites the spark of motivation.

😱 Fear Fuels Action: Conversely, the fear of consequences can also provide motivation. The pressure of deadlines or the desire for a tidy space when expecting visitors can push us to take action.

But here's the catch: relying solely on fear-based motivation can have negative consequences, fostering guilt, anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy. It's crucial to strike a balance.

💡 A Shift in Perspective: Instead of completely shunning fear as a motivator, let's explore new ways of approaching tasks. Can you connect with the "why" behind what you're doing?

For instance, if you're dreading putting together a presentation due to the fear of letting people down, try reframing it. Connect with the profound purpose of sharing knowledge you're genuinely interested in. Now, assembling the content becomes an opportunity to immerse yourself in your passion.

By reflecting on the underlying reasons for tasks, we can shift them from fear to love-based motivation. It won't work for everything, but even transforming a few tasks into love-driven endeavours can positively impact well-being.

If you're feeling stuck and crave professional guidance in exploring your relationship with motivation, don't hesitate to reach out. 📨📩

20/05/2023

🌈🌪️☔🌪️☀️

Like many people I have experienced periods of poor mental health. Looking back I think this was (at least in part) ADHD burnout which presented as anxiety. If the anxiety was left unchecked it could move into depression. Adding in my tendency to feel emotions very strongly lead to a few very low and emotionally uncomfortable periods of my life.

When I began to take action to look after my own mental well being. I came across this quote. I found this a helpful reframe. If emotions are like weather, they can come and go. Accepting that an emotion is present and just letting it be there. Being more aware that I am having an emotion and allowing the emotion the time it needs to work through helped me to stop ruminating. With less rumination I found my anxiety became more controllable. I still experience anxiety, but I find it much easier to cope with these days.

Of course everyone is different and finding what works for you is the most important thing. This little idea helped me better manage difficult feelings.

Have you found a quote that spoke to you and made a difference to the way you see things ? I would be interested to hear about it in the comments if you feel comfortable sharing.

10/05/2023

🎨😃🌈😢🖌️ Does the way you feel ever shape the way you look at a situation ?

If so, you are not alone.

I recently visited an art gallery that had an installation full of shapes and changing coloured light. When I looked back over the photos it struck me how the different colour changed the emotion of the image.

This got me thinking about how emotion shapes mood. I often find when I am feeling bad I tend to see the worst in situations, I predict negative outcomes and struggle to find the positive. The reverse is also true. When I am feeling good, I can discount the negative and with my ADHD brain this can lead to more impulsivity and risk taking.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has a name for this. It's called “emotional reasoning” and it is one of a number of cognitive distortions. These are flaws in our way of thinking that can lead to negative patterns of thought that are not helpful to well-being.

The first step in making changes to these thought patterns is to recognise how we are thinking about a situation and to try and view it more subjectively.

Although I often still find myself allowing my perceptions to be coloured by my current mood, gaining a better awareness of my tendency to do this often helps to give me a bit of distance from the thought.

An example of this is not trying to problem solve when I am in a bad mood, as I know that I am going to view things with a negative bias.
Do you ever catch your thoughts being shaped by your mood ?
Let me know in the comments. 👇👇👇

08/05/2023

🌿🌱🌳🌴🎍 Some years ago I was talking to a colleague about keeping records up to date. I mentioned that I sometimes found it difficult. I said something like, “It takes me a little longer than some to check over the spelling and grammar on account of my dyslexia.” I then experienced something that stayed with me. Her expression changed to one of pity and she used a clearer, slower voice more patronizing voice responding: “Oh, but you have done so well for yourself”

At the time I nodded politely and quickly moved on. But it affected me. I know she was trying to be kind and make me feel better about struggling with one part of my job. However the pity and the tone of her voice made me really cross. It felt like she was viewing me as less than I had been before, we were no longer equals, I was now someone to be pitied.

This quote made me think of that experience and reflect on how sometimes a misunderstanding of what a neurodivergent brain is can lead to people viewing us differently. Unfortunately society has evolved to favour the majority (Neuro-typical thinkers). This makes some of us outsiders trying to fit into a way of working or being that doesn't suit us.

When I am in situations like the story above it helps me to remember, my brain is different not less. When we process things differently we often pick up on things others miss.
Is there something that you have found you are particularly good at because of your neural-divergence? Let me know if the comments 👇👇👇

07/05/2023

🐺✔️🐺➖ I first came across this story in a YouTube meditation to help with positive thinking. I had noticed my thoughts had become a little too much “glass half empty” for my liking so decided to try and address it.

It was one of those moments where I saw an old idea in a new light. What I took from the story was this. People are made up of both positive and negative feelings. Having negative thoughts is normal and to be expected. I have never been a fan of “just think positive” as that just doesn't seem to work for me when I am feeling negative. The idea of there being two wolves within us and a choice over which we feed made it easier for me to recognise that I was making a choice.

If I chose to feed the negative wolf I am accepting that I may be prolonging feelings of negativity. Sometimes I make that choice and accept that it might have an impact on my way of thinking.

Usually I choose to try and be more positive. When I notice that I am in a negative spiral and think “I am feeding the wrong wolf” more often than not this helps interact with my thoughts in a more positive way.

Have you ever come across something that helped you look at life in a different way? I would love to hear about it in the comments. 👇👇👇

20/04/2023

🗺️🚗➡️ Negotiating life's journey can be difficult for anyone. When you process the world in a less typical way, things can be a little more challenging.
This quote made me think of the “ADHD CV”.

I first came across this on an ADHD instagram account. I thought
“I didn’t know that was a thing. I thought it was just me!” I had had 25 jobs before I was 25. I never settled into a workplace and was always looking for the next thing that would hold my interest. It was only when I started my counselling training in my mid 30s that I finally realized what I wanted to be when I “grow up”

Looking back I can see that the sort of jobs I was working in were not a good fit. I just didn’t fit in the office environment. Anything involving writing is a struggle, I can’t spell, even the spell checker doesn’t pick up everything. Some days I feel burned out and can only work a few hours effectively, others I can do 14 hours not notice the time and have to remind myself to eat, go to the loo etc. I was trying to follow the wrong road map.

Working for myself in a job that's different every day, being able to shape my weeks to support my energy levels and keeping written communication to a minimum all support me in being effective in my job. Now that I feel I have the right road map for my career I finally feel I have found the work I want to do for the rest of my life.

This is just one example of how finding the right path can be a game changer for our life outcomes.

If you are feeling a bit lost right now and need help finding your own map, in any work of life (see what I did there) get in touch to find out more about how therapy with me might be able to help. 🗺️🔍📥

16/04/2023

🧠🧠🧠 Neuro-divergence is a descriptor that is being used more these days referring to anyone who has different processing styles. It covers ADHD, Autism, Tourette’s, Dyslexia, OCD and many others.

When writing my content I find myself using (perhaps overusing) the term a lot. I like it because it covers the wide range of brain types that are different from the majority, rather than writing a long list and trying to make sure no one is excluded.

Neurodivergence refers specifically to differences in neuro function, not to be confused with Neurodiversity. Neurodiversity refers to the differences in brain function. Everyone works differently, we are all neuro-diverse. Neurodivergent is specific to people who have non-typical brain function.

If you are exploring how any form of neuro-divergence is impacting your mental well-being, follow me for tips and personal insights of living with neuro-divergence. ❤️🖱️👇

15/04/2023

👧🧕👨‍🦳🧑‍🦰🧔‍I love this quote from Dr Yalom as it sums up my experience of working as a counsellor: Therapy is an alliance between client and counsellor with the relationship at its core.

As a counsellor working with different neuro types I see my job as being able to meet my clients where they are and provide a space in which they feel comfortable to talk about their world without the fear of judgment.

Some people are just looking for someone to listen, others want help looking for strategies. Some people find creative exploration helps them explore others like to work to the feelings through a special interest or hyper focus.

Some people know exactly what they want and others just know they need help, but are not sure what the help will look like.

Each relationship is different and I feel privileged to have a job where I can work in so many different ways to help people be more comfortable within themselves.

I offer a free 20 minute consultation where we can talk about the help you are looking for and find out if I am the right therapist for you. Send me a DM to book your free consultation. 📩🧠✅

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https://atypicaltherapy.co.uk/

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