Who am I?
My approach as a coach is grounded in the belief that you are the expert in you! I act as a guide for you to explore yourself and develop strategies that suit your unique needs and obstacles. No diagnosis necessary! My clients may have formal diagnoses or none at all.
I am often a good fit for individuals who are highly sensitive, empathic, and creative. I enjoy collaborating with clients to find the solutions which work for them. I am passionate about working with LGBTQ+ individuals to develop strategies which address the nexus of LGBTQ+ and neurocomplex experience.
My Approach
My approach utilizes Lindsey Mackareth’s framework of neurcomplexity. Neurcomplexity suggests that not only is there a diversity of ways to be human (neurodiversity), but that within those ways of being human there is a diversity of experiences, abilities, traits, and environments which all interact and present differently within each individual. There is no single way of being neurodiverse, but a myriad of ways in which you might perceive and interact with the world around you. Using that framework, I hope to partner with you to discover how your experience of neurocomplexity is uniquely your own and use that knowledge to empower you to change your life.
Why “Thriving Zebras”?
Imagine a zebra born into a world of horses.
Everyone around the zebra is a horse. The zebra sees that he has 4 legs, a tail, and a mane, and believes he too is a horse. The horses can carry people, pull carts and plows, and work alongside humans. The environment, expectations, equipment, and training are all designed around what horses are expected to do. The zebra is repeatedly told to stand, move, communicate, behave, and perform like a horse. So the zebra learns to imitate horses. It tries to carry people, and pull carts. It suppresses its zebra behaviors and works harder to keep up with the horses. And eventually the zebra may come to believe: “There must be something wrong with me. Why can't I be a better horse?”
The problem isn't that the zebra hasn't tried hard enough.
The problem is that the zebra is being evaluated according to the standards of a horse.
Or maybe the zebra learns to compensate SO well and it learns to tolerate things that are uncomfortable and develops strategies to do what is expected. It may become remarkably good at functioning in a horse-centered world.
From the outside, the zebra may even look like a very successful horse.
But adaptation takes energy.
And if everyone assumes that the zebra is simply a horse that isn't trying hard enough, the zebra may spend its entire life compensating for the mismatch rather than understanding what it actually needs.
And then comes the realization:
“I'm not a failed horse. I'm a zebra.”
Zebras are naturally adapted for something else. They are built to live in herds, navigate open environments, remain alert to potential threats, travel long distances, and survive through their own instincts and adaptations. They have different physical characteristics, different social structures, different behaviors, and different needs.
A zebra might be able to learn to carry a rider or pull a cart. But that doesn't mean those things are what it was naturally designed for. And the fact that it takes more effort, more training, or more energy for the zebra to perform those tasks doesn't make the zebra less capable or less valuable.
The point isn't that horses are bad or that zebras are better. They're simply different animals with different needs.
The goal isn't to teach the zebra to become a better horse.
It's to help the zebra understand its own stripes, find other zebras, learn what zebras need to thrive, and create a life that works for a zebra.