When I first started out as a counsellor, I thought I had to be this perfectly polished professional - you know, the one who never drops an F-bomb, keeps their dark and sarcastic sense of humour locked away, and sits statue-still without a single fidget. My training hammered home all the "don'ts": don't self-disclose, don't offer tissues, don't be... well, don't be yourself.​I'd been told I was "too much, too loud, too quiet, too weird" - basically the greatest hits of feedback that neurodivergent folks get throughout life. So naturally, I tried to squeeze myself into this beige, professional box.​Then something clicked. I thought, "sod  it, I'm doing this my way.

​The difference was like night and day. Don't get me wrong, I still deliver solid, evidence-based therapy. But now I bring my whole self to the room. My AuDHD brain? It's my secret weapon. I can cut through the noise and get to the heart of what's going on faster than you can say "Talking Therapies." My pattern-spotting superpowers mean I catch the stuff you didn't even realise you were (or weren't) saying.​I see through the BS - not in a harsh way, but in a "howay, let's talk about what's actually happening here" way.

When I stopped hiding behind the professional mask and started showing up as a real human being, everything changed. My clients could finally drop their masks, too, and that's where the magic happened. It turns out that being authentically yourself isn't unprofessional—it's exactly what good therapy needs.