Therapy for teens and adolescents with neurodivergence in regional Australia

Teens with neurodivergent can struggle just as much as other teens when growing up. However, they can often face additional barriers that can be difficult to manage, such as forming relationships, working out their sexual identity and managing difficulties with bullying and trauma that they often experience at a higher rate than neurotypical adolescents.

This can make the world a scary and difficult place to navigate. These matters can often be worsened when in regional areas such as Cowra, Dubbo, Young and other towns with a lack of neuroaffirming support options for teens. This is where accessing support from us can be useful, as we have extensive experience supporting neurodiverse adolescents through a range of issues they often face when growing up.

We also aim to work with the parent when supporting a neurodiverse adolescent due to the need for their ongoing support. This also provides a place to safely unpack their experience and begin to look at things from different perspectives. The overall aim to better engage the relationship between the adolescent and parent.

Neurodiverse young adults can often have increased challenges due to the social barriers and exclusion they face. Often there is a want to connect and have friends, however this can prove difficult in regional areas where there is often more stigma around mental health challenges, as well as less peers on the same level to connect with. We often see difficulty pulling away from tasks such as gaming, as often this is where is a safe space to connect with others without all the additional social challenges. This can also be used as a method to manage difficult emotions and to cope with bullying or difficulties in school or at home.

We often support neurodiverse individuals with related traumatic experiences they have had growing up, as well as supporting them to develop their own sense of identity and finding their place in the world. Helping develops social supports and connects to likeminded peers, as well as managing difficulties with peer groups (such as bullying) can also be useful. We also have experience exploring gender and sexuality, supporting those with suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

It can often take some time to connect with one another and to see if we are a match, so we take the time in the first few sessions to ensure this will work and see what we can support with, as well as being upfront if we are unable to. At times, we might even recommend other treatments, either stand alone or in conjunction with things like family therapy, behavioural support or occupational therapies.

Working with neurodiversity means we also need to consider how to navigate difficulties with sensory overload and the anxiety that can come when there are sudden changes in routine in schedule, as well as meeting new people! This is often best as a longer-term option, and we support many plan and self-managed NDIS participants as a result.