Neurodivergent Therapy
in Chicago, IL
Are You Neurodivergent And Looking For Some Support, Care, And Understanding?
Have you been diagnosed with any form of neurodivergence or perhaps been exploring the possibility that you may be neurodivergent?
Do you regularly struggle to manage and balance your everyday life between the responsibilities of work, family, friends, and your personal passions?
Have you experienced any of the following negative symptoms or patterns:
Physical: inconsistent energy levels, restlessness, sensory issues, overstimulation
Cognitive: trouble concentrating, distractibility, low motivation, forgetfulness, racing thoughts
Emotional: emotional dysregulation, low self-esteem, rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD)
Behavioral: procrastination, trouble sustaining routines, poor time management
Social: anxiety, avoidance, loneliness, difficulty making friends or maintaining relationships
Perhaps you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or another neurocognitive challenge and you are looking for a way to better manage your patterns and symptoms moving forward. Or maybe you’re exploring the possibility of neurodivergence for the first time and want an empathetic and effective clinical perspective.
Neurodivergence Can Be Difficult To Navigate Without Care And Support
Many neurodivergent people struggle with executive functioning (EF) and an inability to form routines or make decisions. You may see the negative impact on your executive functioning throughout your daily life, regularly reporting low energy, low motivation, and a general sense of “foggy headedness.” For instance, you may wake up late, rush through your morning routine, and skip or forget daily living activities like eating breakfast or brushing your teeth—all the while feeling stressed and disorganized.
Therapy can help you regain a sense of organization and control over your own life again while also building vital long-term skills like emotional regulation and relational navigation. We can help you improve your executive functioning while remaining emotionally regulated, strengthen your relationships, and improve your overall quality of life in the process.
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Neurodivergence Is Common Even In A Neuronormative World
We live in a neuronormative society that revolves around the neurotypical experience while marginalizing neurodivergence. ADHD and autism have long been underrepresented, misunderstood, and therefore generalized, resulting in stereotyping, ableism, and a higher likelihood of unemployment, among other negative outcomes for neurodivergent individuals.
And yet, neurodivergence is actually far more common than many people realize, impacting millions of people. According to a 2016 CDC study, for example, “2.4 million (9.6 percent) of young children aged 2 to 5 years [and] 3.3 million (13.6 percent) of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years” were “estimated to have ever been diagnosed” with ADHD or ADD.
Individualized Care Works Best For Neurodivergent Individuals
Those struggling with the challenges of neurodivergence need to be met where they are and understood for their unique talents and strengths. Therapy can provide a safe space to feel seen, heard, and understood while working on skills that improve your life and relationships.
At Leap Therapy Chicago, we provide neurodiversity-affirming care that works toward practical improvements in your daily functioning and overall mental health and well-being. Working with neurodivergent individuals requires an individualized approach that optimizes your executive strengths, talents, and interests, while providing the support you need to reduce executive dysfunction so you can thrive in everyday life.
Neurodivergent Therapy Can Help You Thrive As Yourself
When you feel misunderstood and stigmatized for the way your brain works, it can be all too easy to lose hope or internalize unhelpful messages and blame yourself. Therapy can help you detach from criticism, put down the mask we use to fit in, and empower you to live your life authentically and in a way that suits you, not what you’re expected to be.
Our therapeutic process is thorough and flexible: we genuinely want to know who you are, where you’re struggling, and how we can help. We will work to understand your executive strengths and weaknesses, your current and ideal routines, your personal and social obligations, and your larger needs and goals for therapy. And we will build a therapy plan that works for you and your unique experience of the world.
An Eclectic, Balanced Approach To Neurodivergent Therapy
We utilize a variety of therapeutic modalities in our work with neurodivergent individuals, including:
Trauma-Focused Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF/MB-CBT) – An adaptation of more traditional cognitive therapy that emphasizes trauma-informed care, TF/MB-CBT can help you reframe negative thoughts and beliefs about yourself and the world and reconnect with your body so you can slow down.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – A client-driven modality, ACT can help you accept how your brain works without judgment while learning ways to adapt to and manage it that are aligned with how you want to live your life.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) – Another cognitive approach related to CBT, DBT can help you process particularly intense, difficult, or unregulated thoughts and emotions, through learning tangible skills to regulate emotional intensity in the moment.
Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) – An action-oriented therapeutic approach, SFT emphasizes focusing on forward-thinking solutions rather than past challenges or difficulties.
We will first work on practical executive functioning skills like time management strategies, organization and task-monitoring skills, and routine building methods. Then, once you are experimenting with the EF skills and strategies you’ve learned in session, we can move on to emotional regulation, self-esteem, and relational work, which is every bit as valuable to your long-term mental and emotional well-being.
We want you to know that we value who you are, and we want to help you understand your neurodivergent mind, while also learning to harness its highest potential. Neurodivergent people like you have so much to offer yourselves and the world, including a higher likelihood of becoming leaders in your field or sparking movements that advocate for progressive social change. But above all, you deserve to build a life of greater acceptance, peace, and harmony, like everyone else.
You May Still Have Some Questions About Neurodivergent Therapy…
I’ve tried therapy in the past and nothing changed—how will this be any different?
This is understandable and often part of an individual’s larger process or journey. Sometimes you can get caught in the same loops and cycles, and we have to work together to somehow change the cycle and try to “swim with the currents.”
Sometimes this includes acceptance that you’ll always be neurodivergent, but that you can also learn how to manage your life accordingly. Other times, this means trying therapy again even if it hasn’t worked as you’d hoped in the past.
I’m wondering if my therapist will really be able to understand my unique situation.
Although neurodivergent-affirming mental health care hasn’t gotten the clinical attention or research support it needs, many of us in the field get it, are neurodivergent ourselves, and are equipped to help navigate the world of a neurodivergent person. We use this analogy with clients: It’s like you’ve been trying to drive your car as if it’s an automatic transmission (neurotypical), but you’ve actually been driving a manual transmission (neurodivergent)—which is quite difficult, especially without the correct manual.
I’m concerned about whether I’ll need to take medication to feel better.
This is an incredibly common concern, as people often fear that medication will change them or that it represents some sort of inability to “do it on their own.” Medication can provide an important part of any treatment plan, but it truly depends, as everyone’s needs and goals are different. Rest assured, though, that medication is optional, we provide psychoeducation and neurodivergent-affirming resources, and we can visit the topic when and if you’re ready.
You Can Harness Your Unique Potential And Live Your Best Life
If you have been diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or are exploring the possibility that you might be neurodivergent, counseling with Leap Therapy Chicago can offer you support, care, and understanding, while helping you build toward a life that honors your unique potential.
