Lauren Kriwald

Welcome

I’m Lauren - an experienced neurodiverse counsellor. Whether you suspect you may be on the spectrum or have had a diagnosis, I offer a space where you can bring your whole self and together we can begin to detangle any struggles you may be facing.

As neurodistinct folk, our wiring and intrinsic sensitivities bring a truly unique offering to the world. When aligned with our innate of sense of goodness, our abilities can allow us to shine extra bright. Getting to know our systems however can be difficult in the beginning, creating frustration and tricky self-beliefs as our potential remains blocked.

This process of identifying and learning to befriend our nuances can take time before we get more of a hang of things. I will be alongside you to share my compassion-based therapy space, my knowledge and insights, as we work together.

You may notice a few differences between how I practice compared with some neurotypical therapists, as I believe masking can inhibit us from being a bit more real. I may sometimes look towards the camera and sometimes away from eye contact as these are my natural ways of being and allow me to be most present with you. I may sometimes draw or make notes, separate from my clinical notetaking, and have found I work best if I can move freely in my space - whether that’s a shift in my chair or using textures or stimming as ways to regulate my own system and be present with you. All of these adjustments are tools available to you too. By ensuring I am comfortable and self-regulating in sessions, I also offer permission to clients to show up in the ways that work best for them. We may have fun exploring what this looks like if it becomes of interest to you.

In my experience, looking for a therapist can be a bit of a minefield - there’s so many of us out there. I sometimes find it easier to know what I don’t want than what I do. So a few things that I am not:

- I am non-judgemental. Experiencing the world differently to most neurotypical folk has meant learning to hold an inclusive and loving space for myself. I extend this non-judgement to clients, allowing more leeway for us to be authentically ourselves. This creates a space in which trust can grow and therapeutic change can begin, inviting us to learn to be kinder to ourselves and fostering self-acceptance.

- I am not too stuffy or formal. Research has shown the therapeutic ‘click’ between client and therapist to be the most important factor in therapeutic efficacy. By bringing more of myself to the space, I leave room for my uniqueness to shine through. Building trust in this way means I can be silly at times, but I take this therapeutic trust very seriously and hold your best interest at heart at all times.

- I am not the expert on being you. While I may know a lot about working with neurodiversity, you are the expert on being you. I bring my life experience, and so do you. I trust your intuition, wishes and desires to set the pace and create the shape of therapy. I will be here alongside you to navigate the challenges as we discover your inner resources needed to create the life you truly want.

I have a vibrantly optimistic outlook on life, with room for the hardship and shadow that needs journeying through to be able to grow. I run a full and busy practice in which it is my central desire to see you thrive and outshine life’s obstacles in whichever ways feel good to you.

Despite the challenging nature of turning towards the things that can bring us to therapy, I have seen time and time again how this hard work is worth it.

Therapeutic Approach

I am a trauma-informed and polyvagal theory-informed humanistic creative counsellor... pause for breath.

I will explain what this means below. In short, I work with the use of creative interventions based in humanistic theory, am trauma-informed so as to be able to work safely with clients’ past experiences and I keep up to date with the latest research and training in the ever-evolving world of autism and neurodiversity research.

Humanistic Counselling is rooted in three schools of thought:

• Working with non-judgement, empathy and unconditional positive regard (Rogers) to create the conditions in which we can self-actualise and grow.
• Transactional Analysis - the use of psychoeducation to more clearly understand theory around our inner workings (eg. The Parent, Adult, Child model).
• And Gestalt theory which invites gentle curiosity to your moment-to-moment experience in session, and an understanding of our psychological needs as having an intrinsic flow, allowing work to be focussed where blocks may occur.

Trauma-informed

I understand working with trauma in three stages. Processing and integration may be non-linear but resourcing is something I ensure we have in place before working more directly with challenging past experiences you may wish to address:

• Resourcing - ensuring we have the ability to feel truly safe in the moment, using resources of the mind, body, nervous system and the therapeutic space and relationship.
• Processing trauma - ensuring we feel safe at the same time as being able to feel something of the emotions from experiences you wish to work through.
• Integration - as you move forward towards your goals, bringing in new-found strengths that can allow emotions and beliefs from the past to find a new resting place in our psyche.

We can also explore other non-therapy activities available to you in the outside world that can support emotional healing such as engaging with your community in meaningful ways, bodywork/massage therapy, practices that give back to you - be it something in the spiritual / meditation world, being in nature, creative expression or making things with your hands.

Polyvagal Theory

Sean Inderbitzen’s use of polyvagal theory, which describes how autistic and ADHD overwhelm can be seen as a switch moving between different states of the nervous system - eg. from rest, restore and repair (parasympathetic) to fight, flight, freeze (sympathetic). This research roots the regulation of our nervous system firmly in the physical body - giving us somatic (body)-based tools to help de-escalate overwhelm and learn how to resource ourselves to feel more supported in daily life.

We are also able to understand the thoughts, feelings and belief systems (Dana) that align with these different states of being. The groundbreaking application of this research lays new pathways for effective therapeutic interventions to better navigate challenges associated with neurodiverse overwhelm and to increase social connection.

Structure

Depending on your desired outcomes we can decide whether to work short-term (10-12 sessions) or with open-ended sessions. I offer weekly sessions or fortnightly after the first 8 weekly sessions.

If working open-endedly, I will check in with you regularly to see where we are in relation to your desired outcomes and to co-assess any adjustments we may want to make on how we’re working.

Getting In Touch

If you're still reading I'm guessing you may have resonated with some of the things in my profile.

When looking for a therapist I encourage you to shop around, as getting that all-important ‘click’ (the feeling you can speak easily with someone) is key.

I offer a 20 minute zero-obligation phone call to give us a chance to see how it feels to speak with one other. If you like I may be a good fit for what you're looking for, I look forward to speaking with you.

With kind wishes,

Lauren