Neurodivergent therapy is both a professional specialty and a deeply personal passion for me.

Several years ago, I was involved in a serious car rollover accident on an icy bridge near Duluth, Minnesota. I sustained a traumatic brain injury that required brain surgery. The experience gave me firsthand insight into how changes in the brain can affect emotions, patience, focus, impulse control, frustration tolerance, stress responses, and everyday functioning.

I had to learn new ways of managing irritability, anger, impulsivity, frustration, and difficulty adapting to changes. I had to understand my brain differently and find new strategies for navigating life. At the time, I was a graduate student at the University of Denver. My recovery required me to withdraw from school for medical reasons. About six months later after brain surgery, I returned to my education and went on to complete my master's degree at Saint Mary's University in Minneapolis. (The first Clinical-MSW cohort!)

Looking back, I also recognize that I likely experienced ADHD-related traits long before my accident, although I was not diagnosed at the time. The experience helped me understand an important distinction: not every cognitive or emotional challenge has the same cause, and understanding how the brain works is essential to understanding the person.

Today, I bring both advanced clinical training and lived experience to my work with neurodivergent clients. I work with people who may be navigating ADHD, autism, AuDHD, executive functioning differences, sensory sensitivities, emotional regulation difficulties, masking, burnout, or the effects of feeling misunderstood for years.

My goal is not to make you fit a neurotypical mold. It is to help you understand how your brain works, identify what gets in your way, recognize your strengths, and develop practical strategies that actually work for your nervous system and your life.

Neurodivergent-affirming therapy provides a space to better understand yourself, recognize your strengths, and develop strategies that work with the way your brain and nervous system function.

At Riverside Counseling, the goal is not to make you appear more “typical.” It is to help you understand how you function, identify what you need, build on your strengths, and create strategies that support the life you want.

Traditional approaches can sometimes focus primarily on changing behaviors without fully exploring what is driving them. Neurodivergent-affirming therapy looks deeper. In therapy, we may explore:

• How you process information, emotions, and experiences
• Executive functioning challenges and supportive systems
• Emotional regulation and nervous system regulation strategies
• Sensory needs and ways to reduce overwhelm
• Burnout, masking, and the exhaustion of trying to fit in
• Self-esteem, identity, and self-acceptance
• Relationships, communication, and feeling understood
• Trauma, rejection, criticism, and experiences of being misunderstood
• Practical strategies that fit the way you actually function

The goal is not to change who you are. It is to help you understand yourself without shame and develop tools that work with your brain rather than against it.

I chose to learn new ways to regulate my emotions, adapt to changes, and navigate life differently than I had before. It was hard work. I experiences frustrations and anger so much during my healing process. I worked closely with rehabilitation professionals, committed myself to learning how to heal myself, Through education, research, my own therapy and exploring emerging approaches to brain health and nervous system regulation, I developed strategies that helped me better understand my own responses, reduce overwhelm, and regain a greater sense of balance.

That experience strengthened something I now bring into my clinical work:

Sometimes what looks like a lack of motivation, effort, or self-control is actually a person struggling with a brain and nervous system that needs different support and different strategies.

Therapy at Riverside can help identify those needs and develop practical ways to work with them.

Riverside Counseling uses an integrative, trauma-informed approach that may incorporate CBT, EMDR, somatic therapy, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation strategies, depending on your needs and treatment goals.

Therapy with me at Riverside can help you:

• Understand your patterns without shame
• Develop emotional regulation skills
• Recognize triggers and sensory needs
• Process painful or traumatic experiences
• Build confidence and self-compassion
• Improve executive functioning strategies
• Create routines and systems that fit your life
• Reduce overwhelm and burnout
• Improve communication and relationships
• Develop greater self-understanding and self-acceptance

Your brain has its own way of experiencing and navigating the world.

Neurodivergence can create real challenges, but it can also be associated with strengths such as creativity, curiosity, deep thinking, resilience, problem-solving, empathy, and unique perspectives.

Therapy does not need to be about fixing everything that makes you different.

It can be about understanding yourself more deeply, identifying what supports you, and learning how to build a life that works for you.

At Riverside Counseling, you are invited to bring your whole self into therapy.

You do not need to change who you are.

You deserve support in understanding yourself and thriving as yourself.

Riverside Counseling
218-450-8400 or Contact 

Where Insight Meets Action.