Neurodivergent Youth & Families · Ventura, CA
A place to feel understood, supported, and accepted.
Growing up can be complicated. For neurodivergent young people, the challenges of adolescence and young adulthood can sometimes feel even more overwhelming. School, friendships, family expectations, identity, emotions, and the pressure to fit in can create stress that is difficult to navigate alone.
I provide affirming, individualized therapy for neurodivergent children, teens, and young adults, with an approach that recognizes that there is no single “right” way to think, communicate, learn, or experience the world.
Rather than trying to change who a young person is, therapy can focus on helping them better understand themselves, build skills that support their goals, develop self-advocacy, and find ways to navigate a world that may not always be designed with their needs in mind.
Supporting Neurodivergent Youth
I work with young people who may identify as autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, gifted, twice-exceptional, or otherwise neurodivergent. Therapy may address concerns such as:
- Anxiety, overwhelm, or emotional regulation
- Executive functioning and organization
- School-related stress and academic pressure
- Social relationships, friendship, and communication
- Self-esteem and self-acceptance
- Sensory needs and overstimulation
- Masking, burnout, and feeling different from peers
- Transitions and changes at home, school, or in relationships
- Identity development and self-advocacy
- Coping with bullying, exclusion, or misunderstanding
- Navigating independence and life transitions
My goal is to create a space where young people don’t have to spend their therapy hour pretending to be someone they’re not.
Supporting Parents of Neurodivergent Youth
Parenting a neurodivergent child or teen can bring both joy and uncertainty. Parents may find themselves wondering how to best support their child while also navigating school systems, family dynamics, differing expectations, and their own emotions.
Parent support can provide a space to better understand your child’s experience, strengthen communication, respond to challenging moments with greater confidence, and find approaches that respect both the young person’s needs and the family’s needs.
Therapy can also help parents move away from a focus on simply getting a child to “fit in” and toward understanding what helps their child feel safe, capable, connected, and authentically themselves.
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Support
For neurodivergent young people who are also exploring or navigating LGBTQIA+ identities, there can be additional layers of complexity. Questions about gender, sexual orientation, belonging, family acceptance, disclosure, relationships, and identity can intersect with the experience of being neurodivergent.
I offer LGBTQIA+-affirming support for youth and families navigating these experiences. Therapy can provide a supportive space to explore identity at your own pace, process difficult experiences, build self-advocacy skills, and work through feelings of isolation, anxiety, shame, or uncertainty.
I also support parents who are learning how to understand and affirm their LGBTQIA+ child while navigating their own questions and emotions. My goal is to help families strengthen connection and communication while creating an environment in which young people can feel respected, valued, and supported.
You Don’t Have to Navigate It Alone
Whether your child is struggling with anxiety, school, friendships, identity, emotional regulation, or simply feeling like they don’t quite fit into the world around them, therapy can offer a place to slow down, be understood, and develop a stronger sense of self.
Neurodivergence is not something that needs to be fixed. Therapy can instead help young people understand themselves, build on their strengths, develop useful strategies, and create a life that works for them.
If you’re looking for a therapist who understands and affirms neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ youth, I invite you to reach out to learn more about how we might work together.