Service categories: Counselling and therapies

Service URL: https://mbcounselling.co.uk

You are not broken. You are not a problem to be solved.

If you have spent years learning how to hide pieces of yourself so others feel more comfortable — pretending to feel what you don’t, rehearsing social scripts, swallowing sensations until they dull — it can leave you hollow, exhausted, and uncertain who you are beneath the mask. Perhaps a new understanding — a diagnosis, a word you recognised on a page, or a quiet, growing sense — has arrived and brought relief and grief at once. I see that. I hold that.

This is an invitation to a different kind of space: one where your sensory world, your thinking style, your literal honesty, and your deep needs are recognised and honoured. A place that asks, not "What’s wrong with you?", but "What happened to you?" and "What will help you feel more like yourself?"

What you might be carrying:

You may come because you are exhausted from masking — performing a version of yourself to keep others comfortable and to keep you safe. Masking can protect you for a while, but it costs energy, identity, and sometimes your health. You might be living with:

• Chronic fatigue or autistic burnout, where small demands feel enormous and recovery is slow.
• Intense sensory overwhelm or numbness — everyday sights, sounds or touch that are hard to manage, or the opposite, a sense of not feeling enough.
• Social confusion: wanting connection but unsure how to find it safely, or feeling misunderstood when you try to explain your experience.
• Anxiety, depression, or shame that sits underneath the practical problems you experience.
• Identity questions — maybe a recent diagnosis, or wondering if autism fits you, and what that means for your life and relationships.
• Grief and loss that aren’t always visible: the life you thought you’d have, relationships that closed, or the losses that come from realising the world won’t reshape itself for you.

If any of this resonates, counselling can help. Not by changing who you are, but by witnessing your truth, allowing you to rest from the pressure to perform, and helping you build supports that honour your brain and body.

What counselling can offer you here:

When we work together it will be with curiosity, steadiness and respect for your unique rhythm. My aim is to create a therapeutic relationship where:

• You can stop explaining: I will listen for the meaning beneath your words, and accept your thinking and communication style.
• Masking can loosen: sessions become a place to practise being seen as you are — tired, direct, sensory, funny, literal — and to learn ways to protect your energy.
• Sensory and emotional experience are taken seriously: we may explore how your body and senses tell a story about stress, safety and release.
• Identity is explored compassionately: if you are newly identifying as autistic, we can hold the mix of relief, anger, mourning and hope that appears.
• Practical supports meet inner work: alongside emotional processing we can co-create adjustments and strategies that feel authentic — ways to manage overwhelm, plan for rest, and set boundaries that respect your needs.

I do not pathologise autism. I am a late diagnosed autistic adult and I work from a neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed stance — which means I recognise the life-long effects of not being seen and the very real impact of environments that are not built for autistic people.

How I work — in ways that might suit you:

My approach blends humanistic and psychodynamic ideas with creative, practical ways of working. That might look like:

• Taking time: we’ll move at a pace that suits you. Silence, long pauses, or written reflections are welcome.
• Multiple ways of communicating: if typed messages, notes, or having a visual scaffold helps you say what you need, we’ll use them.
• Attention to the sensory: we can adapt the session environment, or use grounding and regulation tools that work for your body.
• Co-creating a plan: we’ll balance exploring past experiences with building day-to-day supports to reduce overwhelm and prevent burnout.
• Gentle curiosity about relationships: whether you’re navigating friendships, intimate partnerships, or family dynamics, we’ll look at patterns, expectations and ways to make connections safer and more meaningful.

I bring creativity into therapy — visualisations, mapping, or simple creative tasks — when they help make inner experience more tangible. But we’ll only use the methods that feel right for you.

Who I work with:

I work with autistic adults at any stage — whether you are newly exploring an autistic identity, have a formal diagnosis, or suspect you might be autistic. You might be seeking support for burnout, anxiety, grief, life transitions, relationship challenges, or the complex feelings that follow a diagnosis.

I welcome neurodivergent and autistic clients who: value an accepting, collaborative relationship; want to explore both practical supports and emotional meaning; and prefer an approach that centres dignity and agency.

Aimed at: Adult , Anyone with an Association to Autism

Referral Sources: Private Only, Yourself

Other specialisms: I will not call myself a specialist, as there is so much research about autism that's emerging and there is a lot we all continue to learn. I don't support specialist labels; I meet you where you're at and my focus is on building a trusting relationship rather than being "an expert".