Why I'm The Most Unprofessional Professional You'll Meet.

Let me paint you a picture. It's 2020, I'm sitting in my perfectly curated office (that looked exactly like every other therapist's website), wearing clothes that screamed "I'm very serious about business," and my hands are literally shaking. Every morning. Like, proper trembling before I even started my day.

I felt like a complete fraud.

Here I was, doing something I genuinely loved, helping people navigate their lives, but somehow it had morphed into this thing that made me feel physically sick. I couldn't work out what the hell was going wrong.

Then it hit me like a bloody great light bulb moment: I wasn't being me. I was trying to squeeze myself into this professional-shaped box that felt about as comfortable as wearing someone else's shoes. The wrong size. Made of sandpaper.

The Triangle Problem

Business coaches kept trying to mold me into what they thought I should be. But here's the thing [and shout out to Amy Winehouse for this one] "they tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no". Wait, wrong quote. They tried to "make me a triangle, but I'm not a triangle". Actually, I don't think I'm any particular shape because I'm still growing and evolving and figuring things out as I go.

What I did know for sure was that I absolutely did not fit into the average therapist box. You know the one, all serene and speaking in hushed, measured tones, with motivational quotes plastered everywhere and probably a diffuser pumping out lavender.

Dropping the Mask

I've spent most of my life masking who I really am. As someone who's autistic and ADHD, I got pretty bloody good at pretending to be neurotypical. But when I finally stopped doing that in my work? Game changer. I felt more confident, more real, more energized. Like I could actually breathe properly for the first time in ages.

Don't get me wrong, I still get doubts, still have challenges, and yeah, I still lose my shit sometimes (not with clients, obviously!). That's because I'm not perfect. I'm not some guru floating around with all the answers. Who is, really?

What You Actually Get With Me

Here's what I reckon you deserve when you're looking for support: someone who's going to hear you, understand you, and have an actual conversation about what might make your life a bit easier. Not someone who's going to bombard you with wellness messages and fluffy platitudes.

I keep it real. I'm chatty, I swear occasionally, and I'm pretty open about the fact that I'm still figuring things out too. I maintain professional confidentiality and use proper therapeutic approaches, but at the end of the day, I can't hide who I am anymore. And honestly? I don't want to.

You're The Expert Here

The thing is, I'm not the expert in your life, you are. I've got ideas, insights, thoughts, and ways that might support you to make the changes you want. But I'm also going to encourage you not to take my word as gospel. Try stuff out, see how it feels, then we'll chat about what's working, what needs tweaking, and what we're going to chuck in the bin.

This is about you, not me showing off how much I know.

When you come into my space, it becomes your space to just be you. Simple as that. You get time to be a work in progress, and I'll walk alongside you, supporting whatever choices feel right for you.

We're More Than Our Neurodivergence

Just because we might both be neurodivergent doesn't mean our experiences are identical. We're so much more than just our brain wiring, we each bring a lifetime of experiences, families, friends, memories, loves, and fears. Your story is yours, and I'm not going to assume I know what it's like to walk in your shoes.

Finding Your Person

Look, I might not be everyone's cup of tea, and that's completely fine. It's crucial that you feel comfortable with whoever you choose to work with, they need to feel like your person.

I'm always open to feedback because that's how we grow, right? I'll check in with you about how our relationship is going and whether there's anything you'd like to change, tweak, keep the same, or step up to the next level. It's all up for discussion.

The Bottom Line

I stuff up sometimes. I forget things. I'm definitely open to a gentle prompt or reminder when I need it. But what I offer is authenticity, someone who walks the talk instead of hiding behind professional facades.

If you want someone who's going to give you space to be human while we work together on making your life feel a bit more manageable, then maybe we should have a chat. If you're after someone with a perfectly curated Instagram feed and motivational quotes about manifesting your best life, I'm probably not your person, and that's okay too.

Because at the end of the day, we're all just trying to figure it out as we go along, aren't we?