Creating Space for Every Mind: A Neuro-Affirming Approach to Counselling

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by Owner and course facilitator, Samantha Crapnell

 

In the landscape of modern counselling, understanding neurodiversity is essential. Every person experiences the world differently, and for neurodivergent clients, these differences can shape how they communicate, process emotion, build relationships and engage in therapy. To offer effective, inclusive support, it is important to be able to understand and embrace these variations rather than attempt to “normalise” them.

 

Having been diagnosed as Neurodivergent myself, my own experiences have given me both empathy and insight into the ways therapeutic spaces can empower, or unintentionally isolate, those who show neurodivergent traits. This personal perspective drives my passion for helping counsellors build confidence, sensitivity and skills to support neurodivergent people in ways that affirm who they are.

 

Understanding Difference, Not Deficit

Neurodiversity describes the natural variation in how human brains function. Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurotypes are not deficits to be corrected, but differences to be understood. At Training for Counsellors, we recognise that the challenge is rarely the neurodivergence itself, it's the extent to which the structures that shape our learning, thinking, and relating have been standardised, so that difference is seen as inconvenient, costly or threatening. 

 

When counsellors assume a neurotypical framework, they risk misunderstanding the client’s needs or inadvertently reinforcing feelings of “not fitting in”. In contrast, a neuro-affirming approach starts from a place of curiosity and respect. It recognises strengths as well as challenges, adapts to the individual, and creates a collaborative therapeutic space where difference is valued. This perspective underpins our CPD course Developing a Neuro-Affirming Lens for Your Practice, which allows practitioners to explore issues that occur in differing client demographics, using consolidated case studies.

 

Awareness, Adaptation and Advocacy

For both trained counsellors and counsellors in training, developing a neuro-affirming approach involves awareness, adaptation and advocacy.

 

Awareness starts with understanding different neurotypes, and appreciating that difficulties with attention, social interaction or emotional regulation may not reflect resistance or avoidance, but genuine neurological difference. This awareness shifts our focus from “what’s wrong?” to “what’s happening for this person right now?”.

 

Adaptation forms the foundation of effective practice. Counselling should fit the client, not the other way around. This might mean adjusting the pace of sessions, incorporating non-verbal or creative techniques, or being mindful of sensory factors such as light or sound. The aim is to create a therapeutic environment that feels safe, accessible and responsive to each client’s needs.

 

Advocacy is about taking what we learn into private practice. Counsellors can promote a neuro-affirming practice within teams, supervision and wider services - challenging assumptions, sharing knowledge and ensuring clients’ experiences are understood and respected at every level.  

 

Supporting Children and Young People

Working with children and young people brings both complexity and opportunity. Developmental changes, school settings and family dynamics can all influence how neurodivergence presents and how it is understood.

 

At Training for Counsellors, we explore this further through our CPD courses Working with the Functionality of Neurodivergent Children and Young People and Working Expressively with Children and Young People. These courses offer practical, strengths-based strategies that help practitioners look beyond behaviour, understand sensory and processing needs, and create environments where young people can thrive as their authentic selves. They also deepen practitioners’ understanding of creative, age-appropriate interventions that nurture emotional expression, safety and connection.

 

When we support children and young people in this way, we don’t just help them, we also influence how families, schools and services engage with them. This approach shifts the narrative from “difficulty” to “difference”, giving young people the space and confidence to celebrate who they are.

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