🌿 Supervision of client work 🌿

I currently have space to take on a limited number of new supervisees, and I’m offering 50% off your first session.

🔅 I’m a neurodivergent therapist with 15 years of experience in private practice. My core training is in Gestalt, but I work across modalities. I specialise in identity-focused work, particularly around neurodivergence, sexuality, gender identity, relationships, and twin dynamics.

I especially welcome fellow neurodivergent therapists and counsellors, as well as anyone supporting neurodivergent clients.

If you’re looking for a supportive, creative and reflective supervision space to deepen your practice, I’d love to connect.

🌿 Message me to arrange a free introductory call or to book your first session. ...

I`ve been reading a lot recently about perimenopause, oestrogen and ADHD that are really resonating.

So many undiagnosed/non-medicated ADHD women develop excellent coping strategies in their lives, and hold things together pretty well...until oestrogen starts fluctuating. Then, nothing seems to work, and we experience constant feelings of failure.

And this isn’t just perimenopause: for some girls it’s puberty, and for some women, it’s pregnancy or the postpartum period that trigger unravelling or spiralling.

Time and time again, we see the same pattern: ADHD symptoms intensify at key hormonal transition points, moments when oestrogen levels fluctuate.

This makes absolute sense, because oestrogen plays a critical role in regulating dopamine, which is central to attention, motivation and executive function. Even more striking, emerging research suggests that women without ADHD may benefit from ADHD medication during perimenopause.

If we just stop here and absorb this - imagine then, how much harder it is for ADHD women, and how urgent a diagnosis and proper support becomes during this time of our lives.

This highlights a critical structural gap in how we understand, diagnose and support ADHD in women. Right now, diagnosis is still largely based on visible distress and dysfunction. 💥This has to change.💥 If ADHD were identified earlier - based on underlying traits, and biological and neurological differences, not just crisis points - then when hormonal changes hit, women and girls are ready to go to get immediate support.

Otherwise, we`re stuck with the current reality, which is when ADHD girls and women need help the most, this is when we start the intensive, exhausting and administratively very challenging years of referral, assessment and diagnosis.

Our current referral, assessment, diagnostic and support processes are biased - in the main - towards bodies (aka male) that do not have these oestrogen fluctuations. When is all this going to take fully into account the very different biological landscape of female bodies?

We absolutely have to do better.

🙏 Thank you to @thomashedden for this beautiful photo. #ADHDinWomen #Perimenopause ...

🌿 Do you have a teen struggling with school avoidance, school anxiety or burnout?

If you`re worried about them and feel they might need someone to talk to - or just a steady, supportive anchor - I’m here to help.

I’m a counsellor specialising in issues arising from neurodivergence, and the challenges of growing up between cultures.

💬 You’re welcome to DM me for a free initial call
🔗 Or learn more about me at www.ninekeys.eu

#TeenMentalHealth #SchoolAnxiety #SchoolAvoidance #TeenBurnout #Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity #TeenSupport #ParentSupport #AdolescentMentalHealth #Counselling #MentalHealthMatters #CrossCulturalKids #ExpatFamilies #ThirdCultureKids #WellbeingSupport ...

I`d like to introduce you to Beth. She is around 48 years old. She has been relegated to my bookshelf for decades, but used to be one of my very favourite things.

As she is now a very elderly bear with mobility problems, she shall remain there, well-loved from a distance. But she has inspired this post, so I am sharing her with you. 🧸

Do you, as an adult, have a stuffed toy or another item that helps you to sleep or to regulate during the daytime?

More and more, I’m having conversations with adults who are opening up about using comfort items for better sleep, emotional regulation or a sense of safety. Sometimes this is a childhood comfort item that has stayed in use for decades, or it is people returning to a habit after years of believing it was `childish`.

Just over a year ago, my then 8-year-old gifted me a stuffed unicorn. I didn’t expect much from this gift, but on my daughter`s insistence I took the unicorn to bed with me every night. Over time I was surprised to find that she calms and soothes my nervous system at night, and I have been returned to a comfort from my childhood.

It’s such a simple tool, yet it feels taboo to talk about, and I want to break this taboo. If something helps you feel grounded, safe, or well-rested, why should we dismiss it?

And so I am wondering - do you have a comfort item or ritual that supports your wellbeing? I`d love to hear from others about this! And equally, if you find yourself reacting with judgement or dismissal, please consider why this might be, and how your reaction may prevent someone you love making use of a valuable regulation tool.

🧸

If you’d like to watch my short video on this, you`re welcome to do so here - and please do think about subscribing to my channel or sharing the video with anyone you feel may benefit: https://youtube.com/shorts/1CVv4dBKDvc 🙏

#MentalHealthMatters #EmotionalWellbeing #SelfRegulation #NervousSystem #SleepBetter #NormalizeThis #WellbeingAtWork #AuthenticLeadership #HumanFirst #BreakTheTaboo ...