​​foto: Harold Pereira

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ADHD and Neurodiversity – discovering how your system works

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Body-oriented therapy for neurodivergent adults in Amsterdam

ADHD, autism, or simply the feeling that your mind and body sometimes respond differently from what is expected of you?

Perhaps your mind is often ‘on’. Maybe you feel things deeply, think quickly, become overstimulated easily, or find it difficult to get moving when something doesn’t interest you. Perhaps you know perfectly well on a rational level what would be good for you, but still find it difficult to act on it.

You don’t have to make yourself fit.

You can become curious about how your system works, what takes up your energy, and what might help you better attune to what you need.

This isn’t about finding the perfect instruction manual. It’s a process of noticing, exploring, experiencing and adjusting.

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Plan a free introductory call

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Perhaps you recognise this...

• Your mind is almost always ‘on’.

• Sometimes you only realise afterwards that something was too much.

• You can become completely absorbed in something and feel exhausted afterwards.

• You feel a lot, but find it difficult to work out what you need.

• Structure can help...until it starts to feel restrictive.

• You put off things that you actually do want to get started on.

• You understand perfectly well on a rational level what is happening, but that doesn’t mean something automatically changes.

• You regularly adapt yourself to what is expected of you.

• Taking time to rest sounds good, but actually winding down is another matter.

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Perhaps you have ADHD or autism. Or perhaps you recognise neurodivergent traits in yourself without having a diagnosis.

You don’t need a diagnosis to become curious about how you function.

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What is neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity recognises the natural differences in how people process information, direct their attention, experience sensory input and respond to their environment.

ADHD and autism are well-known forms of neurodivergence, but no two people experience them in exactly the same way.

Functioning differently doesn’t automatically mean functioning less well. Traits that can be challenging in one situation may be strengths in another: creativity, intensity, sensitivity, curiosity, associative thinking, an eye for detail, or the ability to become completely absorbed in something.

Your environment plays an important role too. Something that works perfectly well in one situation can suddenly take a great deal of energy under different circumstances.

That’s why I’m interested not only in the question:

What are you struggling with?

But also:

When do things actually go well – and what can we learn from that?

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Understanding is different from experiencing

Many of the people who come to me are good at thinking, analysing and understanding.

You may know perfectly well that you need rest, and still keep going.

You know that planning can help, but start to resist when your schedule becomes too rigid.

You finally have time to do nothing...and notice that your mind simply carries on.

Or perhaps you only realise how tired you actually are once you finally slow down.

That’s why I don’t work through conversation and insight alone.

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Body-oriented therapy and neurodiversity

In my sessions, I combine conversation and reflection with body awareness, breathing, movement and other body-oriented practices.

Not because I believe there is one technique that works for ADHD, autism or overstimulation.

Your experience is our starting point.

Sometimes that means slowing down.

But sometimes slowing down doesn’t feel good at all.

Perhaps movement helps. Or talking for a while. Clear structure. Silence. Breathing. Touch. Humour. Doing something practical. Or simply stopping trying to change anything for a moment.

We can try something and then explore:

What do you notice?

Has anything changed?

Does it feel more comfortable, less comfortable, or simply different?

What might that tell us?

A session then becomes less about finding the ‘right’ answer and more a place where we can explore.

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What does a session look like?

You don’t need to arrive with a perfectly formulated question or goal.

We usually start with whatever is present for you at that moment.

Arriving

How are you arriving today?

What’s going on for you?

How is your energy?

What do you notice in your body?

Exploring

We talk about what you are experiencing and become curious about patterns.

What happens?

When does it happen?

Are there times when it is different?

And what do you notice as you talk about it?

Experiencing

If it feels appropriate, we can try something.

That might be a body-oriented exercise, breathing, movement, focused attention, relaxation, or another way of experiencing what is happening.

Not with the aim of reaching a particular state.

But to gather information.

Looking back

What did you notice?

What changed?

What might have helped?

What didn’t?

Taking something with you

Sometimes this leads to something small you can experiment with in daily life.

Not a major plan for change.

Perhaps simply something to notice during the coming week.

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A quick check-in: how are you right now?

One simple way I work with this is the Character Check-in.

We briefly look at three areas:

Energy

How much energy do you have right now?

Activation

How activated does your system feel?

Low, comfortable or high?

Body

What do you notice physically?

Tension? Ease? Hunger? Fatigue? Restlessness? Pain? Warmth? A need to move?

You don’t immediately have to do anything with what you notice.

The first step is simply:

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noticing what is there.

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Then we can become curious.

Does your system need rest? Movement? Food? Focus? Contact? Structure? Fewer stimuli? Or perhaps a little more stimulation?

Or do we simply not know yet?

That’s fine too.

By checking in briefly more often, you may gradually begin to recognise patterns and discover more about what works for you.

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What can we explore together?

Everyone comes with a different question.

Themes we might explore include:

• Overstimulation & tension

  • How do you notice that your system is beginning to reach capacity?

• Energy & recovery

  • When do you lose energy and when do you actually gain energy?

• Always being ‘on’

  • What does that actually feel like for you, both mentally and physically?

• Boundaries

  • What signals might already be there before you realise something has become too much?

• Starting, stopping & switching

  • What happens at times when something just doesn’t seem to work – and what is different when it does?

• Structure

  • When does structure support you and when does it start to feel restrictive?

• Adapting & masking

  • When do you adapt yourself and what does that require from you?

• Body awareness

  • Which signals do you notice easily and which ones perhaps only much later?

• Strengths

  • In which situations does your way of thinking, feeling and functioning actually work particularly well?

We don’t have to know in advance where an exploration will lead.

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This way of working might suit you if...

...you understand and analyse a lot, but notice that insight alone isn’t always enough.

...you’re curious about the role your body plays in how you function.

...you regularly notice only quite late that you are tired, tense or overstimulated.

...you have ADHD or autism, or recognise neurodivergent traits in yourself.

...you have started looking at the way you function differently later in life.

...you’re tired of methods that mainly tell you how you should organise yourself better.

...you want to explore what works for you, without needing to know the answer in advance.

You don’t need a diagnosis.

And you don’t need to know exactly what your question is.

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My way of working

My background is in body-oriented therapy and coaching, therapeutic massage, yoga, breathwork and mindfulness. I have also continued to deepen my knowledge and training in neurodiversity.

This combination forms the basis of my work.

I look not only at what you are struggling with, but also at your environment, your energy, your body, and the circumstances in which something does or doesn’t work.

Sometimes we talk a lot.

Sometimes we do a body-oriented exercise.

Sometimes, during a session, we discover that something we thought might help doesn’t help at all.

That is valuable information too.

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I don’t need to know in advance what works for you.

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My role is to bring my knowledge and experience, to observe and listen carefully, and to explore with you what is happening.

Getting distracted is okay.

Changing the subject is okay.

Not knowing what you’re feeling for a moment is okay.

And humour is welcome too.

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My interest in neurodiversity is personal too

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My interest in neurodiversity doesn’t come from my professional work alone.

It was only later in life that I began to look at my own way of functioning through a neurodivergent lens.

Things I had spent years seeing mainly as qualities I needed to improve suddenly began to take on a different meaning.

I also discovered that understanding why something happens doesn’t automatically mean you know what to do about it.

And perhaps you don’t always need to know immediately.

Becoming curious about what is happening, without immediately trying to correct yourself, can be a very different place to start.

That is the attitude I bring to my work.

Not because my experience is the same as yours.

But because I’m interested in the question:

How does it work for you?

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Where would you like to start?

You don’t have to start with a course of therapy straight away.

You can begin by reading, experience a single session, or choose to take more time to explore together.

 

Understand & recognise

 

E-book Neurodiversiteit in Balans

Would you first like to understand more about neurodiversity and how it can show up in everyday life?

In Neurodiversiteit in Balans you can read about topics including sensory processing, energy, stress and regulation.

The e-book is primarily intended to help you understand and recognise experiences and patterns, and to look at yourself from a different perspective.

€27

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Order your e-book

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