Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy for ADHD, Autism, Giftedness & 2e

At The Art of Healing, we offer neurodivergent-affirming therapy for children, teens, adults, parents, and families. We support clients who are ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, gifted, twice-exceptional, highly sensitive, sensory-sensitive, or otherwise neurodivergent.

We recognize neurodivergence as a meaningful part of how a person experiences the world. Our work is not focused on “fixing,” masking, or forcing clients to fit into systems that were not designed for them. Instead, we help clients build self-understanding, emotional regulation, confidence, self-advocacy, and practical tools that honor who they are.

A Strengths-Based and Whole-Person Approach

Neurodivergent people often move through the world with creativity, depth, intensity, sensitivity, curiosity, pattern recognition, and unique ways of thinking and feeling. They may also experience challenges with anxiety, emotional regulation, executive functioning, sensory overload, attention, transitions, relationships, school, work, or self-esteem.

Therapy can help clients better understand their nervous system, strengths, needs, and patterns without shame. We support clients in finding strategies that actually fit their lives, rather than asking them to become someone they are not.

Therapy Can Support Neurodivergent Clients With

Emotional regulation and big feelings

Anxiety, overwhelm, or burnout

ADHD, attention, motivation, and executive functioning challenges

Autism, AuDHD, sensory sensitivity, and social stress

Giftedness, twice-exceptionality, perfectionism, and intensity

School stress, work stress, or difficulty with transitions

Low self-esteem, shame, or feeling misunderstood

Masking, people-pleasing, or exhaustion from trying to appear “fine”

Identity development and self-acceptance

Communication, relationships, and family dynamics

Parent-child connection and caregiver understanding

Advocacy, boundaries, and environmental supports

Support for Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Children and Teens

Gifted and twice-exceptional children and teens often experience the world with intensity. They may be highly curious, creative, sensitive, perfectionistic, emotionally aware, or deeply affected by fairness, relationships, or expectations. At the same time, they may struggle with anxiety, frustration, boredom, executive functioning, sensory needs, social stress, or feeling out of sync with peers.

Twice-exceptional children may have both advanced strengths and real areas of challenge. This can be confusing for parents, teachers, and even the child. A young person may be capable in some areas while needing significant support in others.

Our therapists help gifted and 2e children and teens feel understood as whole people. We support emotional regulation, self-understanding, confidence, resilience, creativity, and the ability to navigate challenges without losing connection to their strengths.

ADHD and Executive Functioning Support

ADHD can affect attention, motivation, organization, time awareness, emotional regulation, impulse control, transitions, and follow-through. Many ADHD clients are bright, creative, intuitive, and capable, yet still feel frustrated by daily tasks, school expectations, work demands, or relationship patterns.

Therapy can help children, teens, and adults understand how ADHD shows up in their lives. We work with clients to build tools for emotional regulation, self-compassion, planning, routines, transitions, communication, and managing overwhelm. We also help reduce shame by naming that ADHD is not a character flaw or lack of effort.

Autism, AuDHD, and Sensory Sensitivity

Autistic and AuDHD clients may experience the world with deep perception, strong pattern recognition, sensory sensitivity, intense interests, social differences, or a need for predictability and recovery time. Many have spent years masking, overextending, or trying to meet expectations that do not match their nervous system.

Therapy can offer a space where clients do not have to mask. We support self-understanding, sensory awareness, communication, boundaries, emotional regulation, burnout recovery, and the process of building a life that better honors neurodivergent needs.

For children and teens, we also work with parents and caregivers to better understand what behavior may be communicating, how to reduce unnecessary stress, and how to create more supportive home and school environments.

Support for Parents & Families

Families play an important role in the emotional well-being of neurodivergent children and teens. Parents may feel overwhelmed, confused, worried, or unsure how to respond to big feelings, shutdowns, meltdowns, school struggles, sensory needs, or executive functioning challenges.

We help parents better understand their child’s nervous system, strengths, and needs. Therapy may include parent support, family therapy, parent-child work, play therapy, art therapy, and practical strategies for strengthening connection, reducing conflict, and creating more affirming family patterns.

Our approach is compassionate and non-blaming. We do not see children as problems to be fixed. We help families build understanding, emotional safety, and tools that support everyone.

Creative and Experiential Therapy for Neurodivergent Clients

Many neurodivergent clients process best through creativity, movement, metaphor, play, visual thinking, or experiential approaches. Depending on your needs and the clinician you work with, therapy may include art therapy, play therapy, mindfulness, DBT-informed skills, somatic-informed care, EMDR, Brainspotting, parent-child work, family therapy, or traditional talk therapy.

Creative and experiential approaches can be especially helpful when words are not enough or when clients need more flexible ways to explore emotions, identity, relationships, and inner experiences.

Neurodivergent Adults

Many neurodivergent adults come to therapy after years of feeling different, overwhelmed, misunderstood, or exhausted from trying to keep up. Some have known they were neurodivergent for a long time but have not had support that truly understood their experience. Others are newly diagnosed, self-identifying, or beginning to recognize themselves as ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, gifted, sensory-sensitive, or otherwise neurodivergent later in life.

Late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults often carry a complex mix of relief, grief, anger, validation, and confusion. A diagnosis or new understanding can help explain years of burnout, masking, emotional intensity, sensory overwhelm, relationship struggles, school or work challenges, perfectionism, procrastination, people-pleasing, or feeling like life has always required more effort than it seemed to require for others.

Therapy can offer a space to make sense of your story through a neurodivergent-affirming lens. We support adults in exploring identity, burnout recovery, relationships, work stress, parenting, sensory needs, emotional regulation, executive functioning, trauma, and the grief that can come from years of being misunderstood or trying to become someone you are not.

Our goal is not to help you mask more effectively. Our goal is to support greater self-understanding, self-acceptance, practical coping, clearer boundaries, and a more compassionate relationship with yourself.

Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy in Edina and Online

The Art of Healing offers in-person therapy in Edina, Minnesota, and secure telehealth for clients located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California. Our experienced, licensed mental health providers offer compassionate, neurodivergent-affirming support for children, teens, adults, parents, and families navigating ADHD, autism, AuDHD, giftedness, twice-exceptionality, sensory sensitivity, anxiety, executive functioning challenges, emotional regulation, burnout, and self-understanding.

Contact us to learn more or schedule an appointment.