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Are you or your teen a neurodivergent individual interested in gaining personalized support through the challenges in your life? Perhaps you want to learn how to better regulate your emotions. Or, maybe you want to feel more confident in social interactions. You may be striving towards a new goal.
Neurodiversity-affirming coaching can give you the support to learn the skills needed to reach your goals.
As a neurodivergent individual, you may have experienced difficulty finding support from someone that understands neurodiversity. You may have tried working with counselors or coaches in the past. But, you found that they didn’t quite understand your perspective, experiences, or the way your brain is wired. At Open Doors Therapy, our team specializes in working with neurodiverse teens, adults, and their loved ones. We understand the spectrum of identities and experiences of neurodivergent individuals, and we’re committed to providing high-quality affirming care to those who identify as neurodiverse.
Our coaching is Neurodiversity-affirming because we honor the way your brain is wired. We help you better understand your own wiring, and how to identify and speak up for your needs.
Our team has offered neurodiversity-affirming therapy services for years, and we are excited to expand our services to now offer neurodiversity-affirming coaching too!
Now, you may be wondering…
How is coaching different from therapy?
The main difference between coaching and therapy is that therapy is intended to treat mental health concerns through clinically based approaches. For example, if you’re struggling with severe anxiety, depression, or trauma, therapy would be the best fit for you. However, coaching services are intended to help people reach a clear goal by mastering specific skills.
With the support of a neurodiversity-affirming coach, you can learn how to implement these skills in your daily life and through interactions with others.
For example, you may be focused on becoming more confident in socializing. Maybe you’re seeking support in building friendships or communicating more effectively with those close to you. Through neurodiversity-affirming coaching, you can learn how to authentically express yourself, set boundaries, and manage the stress that can come up in social interactions.
Or, you may be interested in gaining skills to regulate your emotions. Perhaps you often feel overwhelmed, and want to learn how to better cope with stress or worry. Neurodiversity-affirming coaching can provide you with the space and support to learn emotional regulation skills, and practice them so you can feel confident using them in your daily life.
The coaching model is specifically designed to be accessible to a diverse range of people, including neurodiverse individuals.
The Skills System coaching model was created specifically for individuals with learning difficulties, cognitive and intellectual challenges, and individuals who are on the autism spectrum or identify as neurodiverse. Many neurodiverse individuals find the structure of the Skills System to be really easy to follow. Many have said that it made more sense to them compared to other forms of therapy.
The Skills System is a modified DBT approach. And similarly, it’s focused on the principles of mindfulness, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance.
It’s a personalized approach that takes into account, and accommodates, for each individual’s abilities.
Our neurodiversity-affirming coaching services are available to you regardless of your location.
In addition to being accessible to individuals of a diverse range of abilities, neurodiversity-affirming coaching is also accessible to individuals across the United States, and the globe!
At Open Doors Therapy, our therapy services are only available to teens, adults, and families located within the states of California and Illinois. This is simply because the therapists on our team are licensed within those two states.
However, our coaches are able to provide neurodiversity-affirming coaching to teens, adults, and families regardless of where they are located! You may be located in the United States, Canada, Australia, or England. Regardless, our coaches can work with you through online coaching sessions. At this time, the coaches on our team all speak English. So, we can provide services to teens and adults regardless of their location. But, we can only provide coaching services in English.
What can you expect from neurodiversity-affirming coaching sessions?
Coaching is tailored to your unique goals, so your coach will work with you to identify and understand your individual goals. Then each week, you’ll learn a new skill from the Skills System curriculum. You’ll be able to work through the skill and learn how to use it in practical ways through the use of worksheets, visual aids, and practice.
Many people also participate in coaching with the support of a family member or partner.
It’s certainly not required, but it can be helpful to have a support person who is involved in learning the skills along with you. This way, they can help you practice and implement the skills you’ve learned. You can have a support person be a part of individual sessions by joining the latter part of the session to gain a recap of the skill. They can also be given the same workbook as you to learn along with you.
Alternatively, you can have a support person join neurodiversity-affirming coaching through coaching groups, which are different from individual coaching sessions.
What are neurodiversity-affirming coaching groups?
Neurodiversity-affirming coaching groups are very similar to individual coaching sessions when it comes to the overall focus. The content is educational and interactive. And, the function of the group is to develop and learn how to implement particular skills. Through a coaching group, you also gain support and perspective from other group members.
How are neurodiversity-affirming coaching groups different from the other groups you offer?
If you’re wondering this, you may be familiar with the various online groups offered at our practice, such as our groups for teens, young adults, and parents. Our other groups are led by therapists and they are generally self-reflective or focused on personal identity and development. Whereas, our coaching groups are led by a coach, and are instead focused on skill development.
Additionally, neurodiversity-affirming skills coaching groups are typically shorter in length and duration, compared to our other groups. Coaching groups are usually 50 minutes each and continue for about 12 weeks. And, our coaching groups are available to teens and adults who live outside of California and Illinois. This is because our coaching services are not limited to those states like our therapy services are.
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Meet Our Neurodiversity-Affirming Coach
Regina Koller is both a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and a Certified Skills System Coach. She was first introduced to the Skills System while working as a therapist for a private clinic. After seeing how effective it was, she became a Certified Skills System Coach herself.
Regina has specialized knowledge and experience working with neurodiverse teens and adults. As both a therapist and coach, Regina is known for her ability to build trust with her clients and create a space where they feel affirmed, engaged, and respected. You can read more about Regina’s education and background on our team page, or by reaching out to our team to learn more.
Are you interested in beginning neurodiversity-affirming coaching?
Coaching is a great option for neurodiverse teens and adults who want to improve their skills. Or, move towards a specific goal with support from a professional. Our online neurodiversity-affirming coaching services are available to teens, adults, and their loved ones regardless of where they are located.
If you’re unsure of whether our coaching or therapy services are the best fit for you can contact us for a free phone consultation. We’re happy to help you figure out which of our services would be the best match for you. Our team can help guide you through the first steps to get started.
Other Services Offered with Open Doors Counseling
Neurodiversity-affirming coaching isn’t the only service our team offers. We understand neurodiverse individuals may need other forms of support, which is why we are happy to offer counseling services online in California and Illinois. Our autism therapy team provides a variety of autism services including autism family therapy, parent counseling, and group therapy. Also, we run several different neurodiversity-affirming groups for neurodiverse working professionals, college students with autistic traits, gifted youth & caregivers, autistic adults, women who identify as neurodiverse, a college transition training program for youth transitioning to college, teens & caregivers, and a mothers group. Please contact our autism counseling office for more information on our services or to schedule a consultation.