Towan Therapies

20/09/2025

Understanding and regulating our emotions is so so crucial to life and why supporting clients to get a better awareness is something I’m so passionate about.

"Teaching people how to regulate their emotions is crime prevention. It’s addiction prevention.
It’s su***de prevention. It’s generational healing. It’s how we stop raising adults who explode, implode, or shut down at the first sign of discomfort. Emotional regulation is not just a soft skill. It’s survival. It’s the foundation of a society where people can disagree without dehumanizing each other, where accountability isn’t seen as an attack, and where conflict doesn’t always have to mean violence. You want a better world? Start with emotional education."
—wearespiritualbeings

artwork by instagram.com/jmcarbomarti

19/09/2025

Autistic masking has been shown to lead to a host of mental health problems and increased risk of su***de - but unmasking can be even more dangerous, particularly for those who are multiply marginalised. It’s deeply contextual and personal but many of the mainstream narratives don’t take this into account.

There’s a common misconception that Autistic masking is about pretending to be neurotypical and trying to fit in – but the reality is so much more complex.

Choose 'all comments' below for details.

13/09/2025

ADHD hangovers - knowing what’s going on with your body and brain and impulses is essential in knowing how to ride out a dopamine crash

12/09/2025

💜 Unfortunately I can’t get it any clearer than this before it blurs out.

The 5 F’s of trauma, there’s actually 3 more, but not so common.
Friend - where we befriend the perp to save our lives.
Found - seeking safety or connection, during and after traumatic experience.
Faint - Our body switches off, we become unconscious to escape from an unbearable situation. 💜

11/09/2025

10/09/2025

👏 👏 👏

10/09/2025

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐘

Today is World Su***de Prevention & Awareness Day.

Let's come together to break the stigma surrounding mental health, promote awareness, and support one another.

Let's spread love, kindness, and compassion by checking in on our classmates, friends, family, and colleagues.

Every conversation counts, and every act of kindness matters. 🩵💚

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, you are loved, you are valued, and you are not alone.

07/09/2025

Something free for you 😊
Actually, two free things!

EVENT 1 – THE MAIN EVENT
Autistic and multiply-Neurodivergent autism Researcher Dr Monique Botha is celebrating the end of their four-year research fellowship with a free, public lecture (both online and in-person) called:

“Why autism isn't what you think it is (and why that matters)”

This will be held both online and in person at Durham University’s Department of Psychology on Wednesday September 24 from 5:30-7pm (UK, BST).

I am very privileged to have worked closely with Monique for years, along with having co-authored several academic papers with them. I consider Monique to be one of the leading autism academics in the world, and I am also honoured to call them a friend.

I’m genuinely looking forward to their lecture.

The full information is on the Eventbrite link, but the quick overview is that Monique will be discussing:

- Why harmful attitudes toward autistic people persist
- Why are researchers so often implicated in our dehumanisation?
- Why does this matter, and what can we do about it?

Along with a pretty huge question:

- What would it look like, if we burnt it all down, and dared to start again in autism research?

As a research associate of Durham University (and because I live down the road), I’ll be attending in person. You can attend in person too, or sign up to watch via live stream online.

Either way, you’ll need to book via the official Eventbrite link (if you have any questions about Monique’s lecture direct them via Eventbrite. I’m not involved in organising this event and I’ll be attending as a guest just like you).

Here's the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/centre-for-neurodiversity-and-development-public-lecture-tickets-1498922871659

EVENT 2 – THE AFTER PARTY!
On Friday 26th September at 7pm (UK, BST time) Monique and I are holding an online after-party on Zoom.

This after party-event is for people who attended Monique’s lecture and would like to hear more, wants to hear Monique and I discuss the themes raised in Monique’s talk, and would like the opportunity to carry on the conversation or ask questions.

There is no set time length; it’s a Friday night so we might decide to pull an all-nighter! More realistically, I suspect it will be a couple of hours long (we’re not as young as we used to be!)

It will be relaxed; a conversation between two friends and colleagues where we’ll be reviewing Monique’s talk, going deeper into the points Monique will cover during their lecture, and comparing notes on our ideas and belief systems. Like me, Monique is well versed in the influence of stigma, and how that plays out interpersonally, and systemically, and how that has warped and corrupted the very fabric of how Autistic people are perceived. If you’ve taken ever taken my training, or read any of my articles, you’ll know that these are the big narratives I grapple with, so I am certain Monique and I will have plenty to discuss.

This is completely free and we’ll provide access to a recording.

The only stipulation is that you must have booked a ticket to either Monique's public lecture (either in-person or online) and you will need to send us your Eventbrite booking confirmation. You can email that to kieran.rosetheautisticadvocate.com to book your after-party space (just replace the with @)

The after-party will likely be confusing if you haven’t seen Monique’s lecture, so please only book a space on the after-party if you are genuinely planning on attending Monique’s public lecture online or in person.

Zoom places to the after-party will be limited to first come, first served.

Currently I’m only sharing this on my page and other social media platforms (due to the issues with our email account – see our previous post), so I’d very much appreciate shares and tags.

You can find out more about Monique and their work on their Durham University bio page: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/monique-d-botha/

or Monique’s own website:
https://www.moniquebotha.com/

If you have any questions ask away,
Kieran

04/09/2025

As a trauma therapist I always find it extremely humbling to work through layers of my own trauma as and when they reoccur (which seems to be weekly atm 🤦‍♀️)
Some people go years/decades thinking they’ve healed- then something happens like a sound, a place, a tone of voice and suddenly their body is flooded with feelings they thought were processed. That’s not because they’re broken. It’s because time alone didn’t resolve the wound. It just pushed it out of awareness. Or it was processed through the lens of life you had at that time which still may have been survival mode.

Healing isn’t automatic. It comes when we teach our body it doesn’t have to stay guarded. When someone finally responds with care instead of criticism and provides consistency. The environments where it becomes safe to feel, to speak, to exist fully. As a single independent working mum on the treadmill of life these conditions are not widely available.

But…when those experiences happen often enough, the nervous system stops preparing for danger and starts registering something new both mentally and physically and that’s when the real deeper repair and healing begins.

It’s in those repeated moments of safety that the body begins to release what it’s been holding. Unfortunately what can happen is that these can become quite overwhelming as there can be an avalanche of trauma processing through a new safety lens or maybe they will come in waves; not quite recovering from processing one before another one hits. Self-care, body work and movement and talking this through with someone who can relate is so so helpful.

04/09/2025

Functional freeze - such a common trauma response where a person appears to function normally in daily life while feeling internally numb, disconnected, or emotionally stuck.
It's a survival mechanism of the nervous system, triggered by feeling overwhelmed by threats or chronic stress, causing the body to enter a state of hyperarousal and shutdown that allows for continued outward functioning while internally dissociating from the situation

02/09/2025

The significant shift in my clients this past week and my own children and my own head space with back to school anxiety and eternal education establishments and local authorities battles has been a stark reminder! Every year the relative peace of summer is shattered abruptly!

For the bravest children that you will never meet in the playground….

While everyone celebrates their kids heading back to school, sharing pictures of their first week (which is lovely to see), this week I’m holding space for the THOUSANDS of children and teens who can’t walk through those doors.

Let’s hold space this week for…

•The child who can’t attend because anxiety twists their stomach and makes them feel sick, manifesting physically and mentally through panic attacks, insomnia, and sheer dread of school.

•The child overwhelmed by sensory overload, the every bell, shout, crowded corridor, and bright light sending their body into fight or flight

•The child screaming at the school gate, arms clinging to their parent, terrified and desperate to stay home

•The child stuck in limbo with an inappropriate school in their EHCP, waiting over a year while appeals drag on.

•The child desperate to be in school but kept home by unknown SEN/EBSA, longing to be with friends

•The child permanently excluded for behaviours that were really signs of unmet need, punished for being themselves.

•The child waiting years for an assessment before school will acknowledge their needs (unlawful).

•The child masking all day, only to collapse into meltdowns when they get home.

•To the teens longing for connection and learning, blocked by invisible barriers they can’t quiteexplain.

•To the teens left without any school, simply because no setting can support them properly.

•To the Teens with severely low attendance due to poor mental health, navigating pain no one can see.

•To the parents/ carers who have lost jobs, giving everything to support their children through this

•To the parents and carers who turned to home education, feeling it was the only way to protect their child and prevent them from being penalised.

•To the Parents accused of “mollycoddling” for protecting the one they love.

• To the kids who are unable to attend school due to major health issues

These persistently absent children and teens are also incredibly brave and they are deserving of everything! I’ve witnessed this both professionally, and with my own child.

Bridget Phillipson, regarding your attendance comments, perhaps try sitting with the parents living this reality before you dare to pass judgment!

Leigh
X