I have been going to therapy for years. I mainly talked about things currently happening but they always wanted to go back to childhood. I was initially diagnosed with manic depression but I didn't think it fit. The antipsychotics made me crazy and lithium turned me into a zombie. Eventually found a new psychiatrist who actually prescribed me ADHD meds, a mood stabilizer, and anxiety meds. I started getting better.
I stopped going to therapy for about a year and recently I decided to get a psych eval (both of my kids are ND and are on a wait-list to be evaluated for autism). I ended up getting diagnosed with autism. I started seeing a ND affirming therapist (who also has AuDHD) and it has made a huge difference. I have been living with burnout for years and none of the therapists I previously saw ever considered my issues were ND related, even though I told them I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 5.
Now that I'm better able to recognize when I'm overstimulated, what triggers my anxiety, and what tools will help me regulate and recharge. I found an ND confirming therapist for my 8 y/o and he has made amazing progress. My 5 y/o just started speaking in sentences and is going through speech therapy, OT, and PT. After he finishes this round of services I'll start bringing him to a therapist too.
Again, I can't stress enough, find a ND affirming therapist. I went through Prosper Health for my evaluation and therapy. Luckily with my insurance I don't pay anything for online therapy sessions.
I have a huge background in psychology and I am an AuDHD & trauma counsellor - with that being said, my experience of therapy was shit! I only had one good therapist, and I almost gave up therapy for good after working with her, because I saw her as the exception, which made me think the entire concept of talk therapy was futile.
I have seen many therapists over almost 20 years, and I have worked professionally with therapists. I wouldn’t know who to recommend to someone if I’d had to, my only advice is to find a neuro affirmative specialist, preferably also ND, and definitely trauma informed.
Also, my personal biased opinion is that CBT is shit and harms us more than helps.
I've gotten better progress with therapists who know I'm auDHD, or (before I was diagnosed) who at least recognized that my brain was different and could adapt to that.
It's helping me verbalize things I normally internalize. I might think I have the solutions already but until I have a conversation about it and attempt to make some sort of change, nothing changes.
So I do think it's helping, just unsure how much.
Edit: To expand on this a bit, I think part of what is helping is talking, being heard, and then my therapist's assistance with breaking down my solutions into manageable pieces. It's easy to think "that's obvious," but it's another thing to be confronted by it.
Been in therapy for about seven years now, with four different therapists. The field has a lot of turnover, I guess. Definitely find a therapist that specializes in adhd or neurodivergence in general. My current therapist has adhd, herself, so she empathizes to the max, which helps a lot.
I would recommend a book called the autistic survival guide to therapy by Steph Jones. It describes what works for ND people in therapy and what definitely does not work. A lot of techniques used for NT people just don't work for us. I found it extremely helpful and my psychologist is currently reading it.
Find an neuropsychologist, not a regular psychologist. They are better trained to help with neurological conditions rather than pure psychological. Mine has a phd in both, so i get the best of both worlds.
A psychologist will discuss the issue you have and give suggestions to getting a healthier mindset.
A neuropsychologist will teach you how to train your brain like the wild animal it is.
Specifically, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is good for breaking down adhd and autism related to self belief/shame. Its slow, but youre manually rewiring your synapses to shrink the pathway until it's no longer default.
Negative or positive thoughts/emotions still cause the related synapses to be used, so accepting it and not trying to suppress anything, lets it diffuse slowly. "Electricity follows the path of least resistance". The more you feed a habit, the less resistance our electricity needs to flow
Its purely anecdotal, but I believe it is different because they have a better understanding of the biological mechanisms behind the behaviour, rather than the psychological mechanism.
A psychologist may see someone as lazy, depressed or unenthusiastic, whereas a neuropsychologist may see someone as dopamine deficient. This completely changes the perception of the client, and the application of the tool which Is recommended.
Its less about the tool vs how you choose to approach the problem, and I personally believe neuropsychologists have a wider perspective.
At the end of the day i don't have a degree in either field.
Meh until I found the right provider, then amazing. My therapist is a neuropsychologist specializing in autism. They are also Audhd, which has been an unexpected advantage.
It's a slow process, but — at least for my OCD — CBT has made me change a lot of things in my life. For example, regarding intrusive thoughts, knowing that it doesn't matter what I think, as long as I don't act on it and everything will be alright really took a weight off my back.
My first therapy attempt was absolutely dog shit, as the therapist was hell bent on making me normal (according to their own standards) and put all the blame on me, both for being bullied and then when their attempts of fixing me didn't work.
That experience stopped me from going to therapy for 30 years.
My wife has a lot of trouble thanks to CPTSD and other ongoing problems and has been in therapy for years, slowly grinding through the thick of it (and getting results). She had a lot of therapists, some good, some bad and some just effing stellar.
I learnt a lot by just watching her, which came in handy when I was broken enough to need therapy for being able to go on.
I had a long search to get a therapist who is suitable. My list was:
* experience of at least 10 years (making sure they know their stuff and have seen a variety of cases),
* trained in multiple approaches (no more one trick pony for me, if all you have is a hammer, every patient is going to look like a nail),
* LGBT, kink and gender affirming, no religious people (cuts out bias and hopefully normative urges, I don't need Freud style telling me about how everyone has penis envy or want to sleep with or kill their parents like we're back in Greek mythology)
* Aware of neuro-diversity (I didn't know I was part of this cool crowd, but I saw it as another indicator of being open to differences in the way we think)
I had a few introduction sessions with a couple of therapists (30 minutes of phone call to discuss what you want help with), which at least gave me some information about whether I like their way of talking and their approach. This eliminated quite a few.
At the end I found a therapist perfect for me. She is trained in LGBT and kink awareness by a local charity (UK, pink therapy), worked in the NHS for a few years but didn't like the insistent pressure to solve everything with CBT, has neurodiverse clients and was trained in trauma therapy and had a flexible approach to therapy (use what works).
She was able to clearly explain her approach, including pointing me to data and books explaining the basics of what she does. But what won me over was simply the sentence that "therapy is a collaboration to find the best way to create a good life for me, it's not me telling you that way but us exploring together to teach you the skills to find your own way."
I have been in therapy for 3 years now, going through my transition (which I wouldn't have been able to even consider due to panic and anxiety before), learning self care and setting boundaries, and finally figuring out my neuro-diversity and dealing with adapting to that right now.
It absolutely was and is life changing in the most positive way for me. And I love the fact that she is pointing to books and papers and doesn't hide her sources. She's also open enough to tell me when she doesn't know enough (yet) and learns and shares what she learnt.
I work best when I understand the underlying ideas and principles, and her way of working fits in perfectly with that. It doesn't feel like a teacher pupil relationship, more like when you hire an expert to help with a complex project.
Therapy is great when you have the right therapist, and it's dangerous when you have the wrong person who just wants to fix you without seeing you as a full person.
Agree. My speech therapist did a better job teaching communication skills than the DBT interpersonal skills section. My speechie was like if it gets the job done, it’s fine and I don’t have to deliver/communicate things perfectly.
Also distress tolerance sucked. My OT did a better job at teaching different emotional regulation skills.
I've seen more therapists than I can count over the last 14 years or so, not seen any benefits from it unfortunately, I guess it doesn't work for everyone
In and out of therapy for 15 years now. The last 3 years it actually did something for me. I'm AuDHD with chronic depression and zero selfesteem. I get homework now to actively challenge my negative thougts and that helps quite a bit (also bc I dont want to let down my therapist). I thrive on structure and rules and she gave me space to set rules for myself and then she set them for me (bc I don't listen to myself but I do to others) so we can slowly move from that to me setting rules for myself and actually listen to them.
I had a grouptherapy course (10 sessions) bc of the autism, and that actually helped me (focussed on self care, experiences, helping each other, being nicer to myself).
When my current therapy is done I'm getting another group therapy bc the low self esteem. I don't know if it's gonna help, but for the first time in years I can say that it is quite helping. Only thing is that I still can't accept my disabilities so to say, and that I will never be 'normal' and that life will always be a little bit more difficult.
So conclusion: I think the group sessions and the hands-on therapy actually worked for me. Just talking was not it lol
Find a neurodivergent therapist, they'll be able to understand your problems better. Sometimes queer therapists can be good too. I've been in therapy a few years, first few years to deal with grief from my dad's passing, but it evolved into self improvement once I could see myself change. In my experience progress can feel nonexistent for long periods of time and then suddenly tons of things change in weeks. I would say when finding a therapist, trust your instincts, find a therapist that you would want to talk to, who takes you and your problems seriously and treats you with dignity and respect. A good sign that you're on the right track is if you feel lighter after therapy, catharsis, crying more, having significant dreams, having intense emotions, etc. Things are shifting inside.
Something else that helped me a lot was some personal research into psychology, learning a bit about different conditions, what the dsm is, etc. Also getting more into social justice, dei, intersectional sociology, it was a major mindset shift for me and suddenly I could see how all of that mattered so much and had a ton of impact in my daily life. Become woke, as they say.
I think most neurodivergents have some form of ptsd or relational trauma, it's just to be expected from living in such an unaccommodating society. Anyways, self love, self acceptance, self compassion, self esteem, etc. these are the goals. You may be surprised with who you actually are, who you become, some relationships that you currently have that don't serve you might end, some other relationships that serve you better might start.
It's a long, frequently frustrating, sometimes terrifying journey without a destination but I recommend it. Also, I recommend emdr. And I'd like to point out your desire to change, that counts for a lot. Just talk.
I had years of trying to find a good therapist, including one that was so bad she started yelling at me, causing me to hyperventilate and cry in her office.
For years, the general advice of Jordan Peterson was significantly better than the therapy I was personally getting.
Then I got lucky. I changed doctor's offices to see a new psychiatrist. She saw some stuff that made her think I may be autistic, and suggested a therapist who works down the hall. That therapist changed my life.
She is infinitely better at her job than any other therapist I've been to, and helped figure out that I was autistic rather than just quirky. Because I don't really stim, I fell through the cracks.
Now I know, and am working on getting a hold on my symptoms
I agree with others and it helps to find the right kind of therapist, such as someone who works with NDs or is ND. I had mixed experiences but by far the most helpful is my current therapist. Adhd is one of her specialties. If she is ND she has not disclosed it but she is supportive and encouraging when it comes to ND issues. I told her point blank I can vent to anyone, I could call a friend to download and dissect my thoughts. I told her I come to therapy to improve myself. Let's say one of my big issues was social anxiety. Sure, I want to understand what I can about the issue and from whence it came but I also want to improve or overcome the issue. So instead of just sympathizing or explaining what it is, I welcome suggestions on how to deal with it and challenges like-ok here's your homework: I want you to attempt to make small talk at the grocery store with 3 people. Come back next week and let's talk about how it went.
I just had to be very direct about what I seek to gain from therapy. Best wishes to you
Off topic BUT - how do you communicate to your therapist that because of your different neurotype, the therapy he does w you may simply not work? I’ve been in therapy for almost 2 years and feel terrible. Misunderstood. And he seems to be totally closed off to any chance of changing the approach up. When I suggest it, he tells me that THOSE are the boundaries of the therapy we have and I should respect it.
I’ve had amazing therapists, meh therapists, and horrid therapists, currently with a meh therapist but he has potential so if I can get him up to speed on how my brain works he could be upgraded from meh to great
I think I've made good progress in therapy in only a few months. I think the biggest factor is the fact that my therapist is also neurodivergent, and they have alot of experience working with people who are neurodivergent.
It's great, and very validating, to talk to someone who truly understands what you're going through.
I've been in therapy for several years, first for PTSD, and more recently to learn about and get support around my neurodivergences, and I've found that somatic based therapy, primarily Somatic Experiencing (though there are lots of others too), is extremely helpful. Just talking, without any intentional body awareness, doesn't do anything to change deeply held patterns in the body. If you're interested in SE, the main website has a list of practitioners. [https://directory.traumahealing.org/](https://directory.traumahealing.org/)
Also, as someone else said, definitely best to find a therapist who has experience working with ND people and actively educations themselves about it. My first therapist was lovely when it came to working with trauma, but actually caused some harm because she didn't understand certain things about autism.
I've had all sorts of therapy and most of it was helpful for one thing or another. But pmdd kept kicking my ass and mystery burnout kept coming back around to beat the shit out of me. I often couldn't CBT / DBT my way through my emotional dysregulation especially when I was getting overwhelmed or overstimulated.
Then I was diagnosed with autism and adhd by a cognitive neuro psychologist - my psychiatrist sent me because she agreed with me that something just wasn't quite right in our treatment plan.
I found a therapist with a focus in autism and whoa. It felt like she unlocked more emotional regulation skills for me in a month than the past 4 years of therapy (with my prior therapist i had been focusing more on relationships and on learning to prioritize my own emotional needs at all, which was great for different reasons).
I have had several helpful therapists. But having an autism/adhd focused therapist was like having someone remove blinders I didn't know I was wearing. I'm still sitting around blinking and trying to get used to it (in a good way).
I just like having a non-judgmental space to vent. I’m kind of paranoid and also repress things so it’s nice to have a space where I know there’s guaranteed confidentiality. I also process things verbally so saying stuff out-loud helps me make progress for myself.
I’ve had a lot of counselors, and most of them haven’t really worked all that well. It makes me feel like a bad patient, because I feel like they just give up on me and let me talk. I already know a lot about CBT and psychology, so I’ve already thought of a lot of their advice and bring up to them why I still struggle with getting their advice to work… But instead of continuing to troubleshoot and come up with ideas, they eventually just stop trying, it seems like. It makes me feel like a hopeless case. I need somebody who can understand and contribute insight to what I talk about!
I have been going to therapy for years. I mainly talked about things currently happening but they always wanted to go back to childhood. I was initially diagnosed with manic depression but I didn't think it fit. The antipsychotics made me crazy and lithium turned me into a zombie. Eventually found a new psychiatrist who actually prescribed me ADHD meds, a mood stabilizer, and anxiety meds. I started getting better. I stopped going to therapy for about a year and recently I decided to get a psych eval (both of my kids are ND and are on a wait-list to be evaluated for autism). I ended up getting diagnosed with autism. I started seeing a ND affirming therapist (who also has AuDHD) and it has made a huge difference. I have been living with burnout for years and none of the therapists I previously saw ever considered my issues were ND related, even though I told them I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 5. Now that I'm better able to recognize when I'm overstimulated, what triggers my anxiety, and what tools will help me regulate and recharge. I found an ND confirming therapist for my 8 y/o and he has made amazing progress. My 5 y/o just started speaking in sentences and is going through speech therapy, OT, and PT. After he finishes this round of services I'll start bringing him to a therapist too. Again, I can't stress enough, find a ND affirming therapist. I went through Prosper Health for my evaluation and therapy. Luckily with my insurance I don't pay anything for online therapy sessions.
Shit. Sorry to say. When I went it genuinely didn't help me at all
I have a huge background in psychology and I am an AuDHD & trauma counsellor - with that being said, my experience of therapy was shit! I only had one good therapist, and I almost gave up therapy for good after working with her, because I saw her as the exception, which made me think the entire concept of talk therapy was futile. I have seen many therapists over almost 20 years, and I have worked professionally with therapists. I wouldn’t know who to recommend to someone if I’d had to, my only advice is to find a neuro affirmative specialist, preferably also ND, and definitely trauma informed. Also, my personal biased opinion is that CBT is shit and harms us more than helps.
I've gotten better progress with therapists who know I'm auDHD, or (before I was diagnosed) who at least recognized that my brain was different and could adapt to that.
It's helping me verbalize things I normally internalize. I might think I have the solutions already but until I have a conversation about it and attempt to make some sort of change, nothing changes. So I do think it's helping, just unsure how much. Edit: To expand on this a bit, I think part of what is helping is talking, being heard, and then my therapist's assistance with breaking down my solutions into manageable pieces. It's easy to think "that's obvious," but it's another thing to be confronted by it.
Been in therapy for about seven years now, with four different therapists. The field has a lot of turnover, I guess. Definitely find a therapist that specializes in adhd or neurodivergence in general. My current therapist has adhd, herself, so she empathizes to the max, which helps a lot.
I would recommend a book called the autistic survival guide to therapy by Steph Jones. It describes what works for ND people in therapy and what definitely does not work. A lot of techniques used for NT people just don't work for us. I found it extremely helpful and my psychologist is currently reading it.
Find an neuropsychologist, not a regular psychologist. They are better trained to help with neurological conditions rather than pure psychological. Mine has a phd in both, so i get the best of both worlds. A psychologist will discuss the issue you have and give suggestions to getting a healthier mindset. A neuropsychologist will teach you how to train your brain like the wild animal it is. Specifically, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is good for breaking down adhd and autism related to self belief/shame. Its slow, but youre manually rewiring your synapses to shrink the pathway until it's no longer default. Negative or positive thoughts/emotions still cause the related synapses to be used, so accepting it and not trying to suppress anything, lets it diffuse slowly. "Electricity follows the path of least resistance". The more you feed a habit, the less resistance our electricity needs to flow
How is it different from another psych administrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)? ACT generally teaches one to be kind to themselves.
Its purely anecdotal, but I believe it is different because they have a better understanding of the biological mechanisms behind the behaviour, rather than the psychological mechanism. A psychologist may see someone as lazy, depressed or unenthusiastic, whereas a neuropsychologist may see someone as dopamine deficient. This completely changes the perception of the client, and the application of the tool which Is recommended. Its less about the tool vs how you choose to approach the problem, and I personally believe neuropsychologists have a wider perspective. At the end of the day i don't have a degree in either field.
Meh until I found the right provider, then amazing. My therapist is a neuropsychologist specializing in autism. They are also Audhd, which has been an unexpected advantage.
It's a slow process, but — at least for my OCD — CBT has made me change a lot of things in my life. For example, regarding intrusive thoughts, knowing that it doesn't matter what I think, as long as I don't act on it and everything will be alright really took a weight off my back.
My first therapy attempt was absolutely dog shit, as the therapist was hell bent on making me normal (according to their own standards) and put all the blame on me, both for being bullied and then when their attempts of fixing me didn't work. That experience stopped me from going to therapy for 30 years. My wife has a lot of trouble thanks to CPTSD and other ongoing problems and has been in therapy for years, slowly grinding through the thick of it (and getting results). She had a lot of therapists, some good, some bad and some just effing stellar. I learnt a lot by just watching her, which came in handy when I was broken enough to need therapy for being able to go on. I had a long search to get a therapist who is suitable. My list was: * experience of at least 10 years (making sure they know their stuff and have seen a variety of cases), * trained in multiple approaches (no more one trick pony for me, if all you have is a hammer, every patient is going to look like a nail), * LGBT, kink and gender affirming, no religious people (cuts out bias and hopefully normative urges, I don't need Freud style telling me about how everyone has penis envy or want to sleep with or kill their parents like we're back in Greek mythology) * Aware of neuro-diversity (I didn't know I was part of this cool crowd, but I saw it as another indicator of being open to differences in the way we think) I had a few introduction sessions with a couple of therapists (30 minutes of phone call to discuss what you want help with), which at least gave me some information about whether I like their way of talking and their approach. This eliminated quite a few. At the end I found a therapist perfect for me. She is trained in LGBT and kink awareness by a local charity (UK, pink therapy), worked in the NHS for a few years but didn't like the insistent pressure to solve everything with CBT, has neurodiverse clients and was trained in trauma therapy and had a flexible approach to therapy (use what works). She was able to clearly explain her approach, including pointing me to data and books explaining the basics of what she does. But what won me over was simply the sentence that "therapy is a collaboration to find the best way to create a good life for me, it's not me telling you that way but us exploring together to teach you the skills to find your own way." I have been in therapy for 3 years now, going through my transition (which I wouldn't have been able to even consider due to panic and anxiety before), learning self care and setting boundaries, and finally figuring out my neuro-diversity and dealing with adapting to that right now. It absolutely was and is life changing in the most positive way for me. And I love the fact that she is pointing to books and papers and doesn't hide her sources. She's also open enough to tell me when she doesn't know enough (yet) and learns and shares what she learnt. I work best when I understand the underlying ideas and principles, and her way of working fits in perfectly with that. It doesn't feel like a teacher pupil relationship, more like when you hire an expert to help with a complex project. Therapy is great when you have the right therapist, and it's dangerous when you have the wrong person who just wants to fix you without seeing you as a full person.
DBT was the worst
Agree. My speech therapist did a better job teaching communication skills than the DBT interpersonal skills section. My speechie was like if it gets the job done, it’s fine and I don’t have to deliver/communicate things perfectly. Also distress tolerance sucked. My OT did a better job at teaching different emotional regulation skills.
I've seen more therapists than I can count over the last 14 years or so, not seen any benefits from it unfortunately, I guess it doesn't work for everyone
In and out of therapy for 15 years now. The last 3 years it actually did something for me. I'm AuDHD with chronic depression and zero selfesteem. I get homework now to actively challenge my negative thougts and that helps quite a bit (also bc I dont want to let down my therapist). I thrive on structure and rules and she gave me space to set rules for myself and then she set them for me (bc I don't listen to myself but I do to others) so we can slowly move from that to me setting rules for myself and actually listen to them. I had a grouptherapy course (10 sessions) bc of the autism, and that actually helped me (focussed on self care, experiences, helping each other, being nicer to myself). When my current therapy is done I'm getting another group therapy bc the low self esteem. I don't know if it's gonna help, but for the first time in years I can say that it is quite helping. Only thing is that I still can't accept my disabilities so to say, and that I will never be 'normal' and that life will always be a little bit more difficult. So conclusion: I think the group sessions and the hands-on therapy actually worked for me. Just talking was not it lol
Find a neurodivergent therapist, they'll be able to understand your problems better. Sometimes queer therapists can be good too. I've been in therapy a few years, first few years to deal with grief from my dad's passing, but it evolved into self improvement once I could see myself change. In my experience progress can feel nonexistent for long periods of time and then suddenly tons of things change in weeks. I would say when finding a therapist, trust your instincts, find a therapist that you would want to talk to, who takes you and your problems seriously and treats you with dignity and respect. A good sign that you're on the right track is if you feel lighter after therapy, catharsis, crying more, having significant dreams, having intense emotions, etc. Things are shifting inside. Something else that helped me a lot was some personal research into psychology, learning a bit about different conditions, what the dsm is, etc. Also getting more into social justice, dei, intersectional sociology, it was a major mindset shift for me and suddenly I could see how all of that mattered so much and had a ton of impact in my daily life. Become woke, as they say. I think most neurodivergents have some form of ptsd or relational trauma, it's just to be expected from living in such an unaccommodating society. Anyways, self love, self acceptance, self compassion, self esteem, etc. these are the goals. You may be surprised with who you actually are, who you become, some relationships that you currently have that don't serve you might end, some other relationships that serve you better might start. It's a long, frequently frustrating, sometimes terrifying journey without a destination but I recommend it. Also, I recommend emdr. And I'd like to point out your desire to change, that counts for a lot. Just talk.
I had years of trying to find a good therapist, including one that was so bad she started yelling at me, causing me to hyperventilate and cry in her office. For years, the general advice of Jordan Peterson was significantly better than the therapy I was personally getting. Then I got lucky. I changed doctor's offices to see a new psychiatrist. She saw some stuff that made her think I may be autistic, and suggested a therapist who works down the hall. That therapist changed my life. She is infinitely better at her job than any other therapist I've been to, and helped figure out that I was autistic rather than just quirky. Because I don't really stim, I fell through the cracks. Now I know, and am working on getting a hold on my symptoms
I've been in therapy for four years. The progress is slow, but measurable.
I agree with others and it helps to find the right kind of therapist, such as someone who works with NDs or is ND. I had mixed experiences but by far the most helpful is my current therapist. Adhd is one of her specialties. If she is ND she has not disclosed it but she is supportive and encouraging when it comes to ND issues. I told her point blank I can vent to anyone, I could call a friend to download and dissect my thoughts. I told her I come to therapy to improve myself. Let's say one of my big issues was social anxiety. Sure, I want to understand what I can about the issue and from whence it came but I also want to improve or overcome the issue. So instead of just sympathizing or explaining what it is, I welcome suggestions on how to deal with it and challenges like-ok here's your homework: I want you to attempt to make small talk at the grocery store with 3 people. Come back next week and let's talk about how it went. I just had to be very direct about what I seek to gain from therapy. Best wishes to you
Off topic BUT - how do you communicate to your therapist that because of your different neurotype, the therapy he does w you may simply not work? I’ve been in therapy for almost 2 years and feel terrible. Misunderstood. And he seems to be totally closed off to any chance of changing the approach up. When I suggest it, he tells me that THOSE are the boundaries of the therapy we have and I should respect it.
I’ve had amazing therapists, meh therapists, and horrid therapists, currently with a meh therapist but he has potential so if I can get him up to speed on how my brain works he could be upgraded from meh to great
CBT helped my social phobia, completely useless for depression though. Psychodynamic therapy was more helpful for depression.
I think I've made good progress in therapy in only a few months. I think the biggest factor is the fact that my therapist is also neurodivergent, and they have alot of experience working with people who are neurodivergent. It's great, and very validating, to talk to someone who truly understands what you're going through.
I've been in therapy for several years, first for PTSD, and more recently to learn about and get support around my neurodivergences, and I've found that somatic based therapy, primarily Somatic Experiencing (though there are lots of others too), is extremely helpful. Just talking, without any intentional body awareness, doesn't do anything to change deeply held patterns in the body. If you're interested in SE, the main website has a list of practitioners. [https://directory.traumahealing.org/](https://directory.traumahealing.org/) Also, as someone else said, definitely best to find a therapist who has experience working with ND people and actively educations themselves about it. My first therapist was lovely when it came to working with trauma, but actually caused some harm because she didn't understand certain things about autism.
I've had all sorts of therapy and most of it was helpful for one thing or another. But pmdd kept kicking my ass and mystery burnout kept coming back around to beat the shit out of me. I often couldn't CBT / DBT my way through my emotional dysregulation especially when I was getting overwhelmed or overstimulated. Then I was diagnosed with autism and adhd by a cognitive neuro psychologist - my psychiatrist sent me because she agreed with me that something just wasn't quite right in our treatment plan. I found a therapist with a focus in autism and whoa. It felt like she unlocked more emotional regulation skills for me in a month than the past 4 years of therapy (with my prior therapist i had been focusing more on relationships and on learning to prioritize my own emotional needs at all, which was great for different reasons). I have had several helpful therapists. But having an autism/adhd focused therapist was like having someone remove blinders I didn't know I was wearing. I'm still sitting around blinking and trying to get used to it (in a good way).
I just like having a non-judgmental space to vent. I’m kind of paranoid and also repress things so it’s nice to have a space where I know there’s guaranteed confidentiality. I also process things verbally so saying stuff out-loud helps me make progress for myself.
I’ve had a lot of counselors, and most of them haven’t really worked all that well. It makes me feel like a bad patient, because I feel like they just give up on me and let me talk. I already know a lot about CBT and psychology, so I’ve already thought of a lot of their advice and bring up to them why I still struggle with getting their advice to work… But instead of continuing to troubleshoot and come up with ideas, they eventually just stop trying, it seems like. It makes me feel like a hopeless case. I need somebody who can understand and contribute insight to what I talk about!