Have you spent your life wondering what is wrong with your brain?

 

A virtual group for people newly discovering how to support their neurodivergent Brain.

We will be learning, commiserating, processing, and experimenting.



What is “neurodivergent”?

  1. The short answer: Your brain works differently from the majority of people ("neurotypical"). Society's expectations are built around this neurotypical experience, which makes being a neurodivergent (ND) human difficult! Things like Autism and ADHD fall under this category.



  2. The medium answer: A set of experiences that may or may not be “officially diagnosable” which may result in habits such as only being able to focus when something is extremely urgent or very interesting to you, struggling to prioritize and/or complete tasks, interrupting your friends, social anxiety or awkwardness, time blindness (always late?), struggling to identify and explain your emotions, sensory issues, and more.



  3. The long answer: Come to group and we’ll create our own answers!



What is this group about?



This virtual group is for adults questioning or exploring their neurodivergence.

This is part support, part therapy, and part coaching. It is intended as a private space to get perspective, learn ways to embrace how your brain works, and finally stop trying to fit molds that weren’t made with you in mind.

You do NOT need a diagnosis or a “doctor’s note” to participate. You can be at any stage of your ND journey to join us.



This group is for you if:

  • You believe you are neurodivergent. (You may or may not be “officially diagnosed.”)

  • You have been researching how your brain works on your own but you feel alone in your experiences.

  • You have been struggling for a long time to “fix” yourself and it doesn’t seem to be working.

  • You end up over-performing or under-performing and sometimes basic tasks feel like a struggle.

  • You struggle with things like time blindness, social awkwardness or anxiety, figuring out the balance of outside stimulation plus environmental factors in order to feel productive, hyperfocusing or lack of focus, you can’t help interrupting others or you struggle with telling a linear story, and more.



What will you get out of group?

  • Explore how neurodivergent brains work and learn how to do less and do what works for you.

  • Figure out how to work with your patterns instead of against them.

  • Connect with others who feel and experience similar struggles. Get validation and respect for things you know to be true about yourself.

  • Address the shame associated with the ND experience.

  • Decide if an official diagnosis will be helpful for you and consider different options for managing your wellbeing.

  • A ton of facts and information from your therapist, who has training around ND and is part of the community themself.



Who is facilitating the group?


It’s me: Nik Stancil, LPCC.


If I had this group growing up, I would not have felt so much shame about things that are a struggle for me. People told me all the time how smart I was, how mature I was for my age, blah blah- but I also was told I was weird, awkward, “too honest,” and had really intense emotions. The fact that my brain doesn’t work the same as other people’s made me think there was something wrong with me, even though I could clearly see many benefits to having a brain like mine.

I responded by overcompensating, burning out, and pretending to be a version of myself that wasn’t real. I never felt “good enough” because I wasn’t inviting the real me to experience my own life.

I’ve been actively exploring the ND experience for the last 15 years: I learned more about myself, through several years of research (mostly done at 1am while procrastinating homework), my own therapy, becoming a therapist and getting specific training on how to work with neurodivergent brains, adjusting my own expectations and my environment, and lots and lots and LOTS of experimenting. I learned how to work with my brain instead of against it, and freed up so much mental energy to focus on the rest of my life. (You know, like friendships, my health, and my career…)

I promise there are other people who feel like you (and we’re not all just making tiktok videos about how to hack ADHD).

This group is a passion project of mine and if you told me 10 years ago that this is what I would be doing I would say, “Of course, but how?”

I’m excited AF to run this group and I want to talk to you about it!

The Details:

  • The program consists of 6 group meetings, about 90 minutes each. We will meet virtually.

  • Next group starts July 17th, 2024 at 5:30p PST / 8:30p EST.

  • All participants must reside either in the state of California or North Carolina.

  • The group will be limited to 6 people who are all interviewed to make sure it is a productive space.

  • The cost of group is $500 for all six sessions. Payment plans are available.