Physical Health
It is disconcerting to think that health is never promised. Sometimes, health declines gradually with age, and other times, health can change on the turn of a dime during the most unexpected phase of life. You may get diagnosed with a physical illness or suffer from a physical injury. For many years, I worked with geriatric clients with early onset dementia, terminal cancer, and chronic pain issues and co-occurring depression. The connection between the mind and body is incredibly significant, and I saw how these physical health changes affected these clients’ mental health. It is difficult to see and feel how your physical functions have changed, and not know how your condition will progress or how long recovery will take. This can all bring up a multitude of emotions and I am here to help you process these feelings, work on adjusting to this new version of life, and gain mental control over a physical experience occurring outside of your control.
Adulthood Diagnosis of Autism and/or ADHD
For my entire therapeutic career, I have worked with neurodivergent adults. I have a lot of experience supporting clients with social skills, executive functioning, managing sensory aversive experiences, and understanding the differences in the brain for how stimuli are perceived and processed. Many clients come to me after newly receiving an official diagnosis as an adult because though they have struggled and felt “different” throughout their lives, they did not know what the differences were attributed to until now. Getting these diagnoses can cause mixed feelings. I have had clients express both feeling relieved to have language for describing their challenges and also frustrated that they didn’t receive help dealing with these specific struggles earlier on. There are many aspects of autism and ADHD that are strengths, and I am here to support you in both owning those and better understanding and managing the elements that are more difficult for you. I am here to support you in living an authentic life where you honor and accommodate yourself, as opposed to effortfully conforming and masking to societal “norms” that are frequently set through a neurotypical lens.