About me
I am a counsellor/psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner and clinical supervisor. I have worked as the Clinical Lead in a hospice, for charities, in counselling education, both as a tutor and for the awarding body (examinations board), and now currently in private practice. I currently provide reduced fee counselling to a charity supporting people affected by mesothelioma, asbestosis or any other asbestos-related disease. I am experienced in supporting people with life limiting illness, as well as family members. In private practice, I specialise in supporting neurodivergent people - autistic, ADHD and AuDHD, as well as people identifying as neurodivergent that may not have (or feel they need) a diagnosis, and their families - partners, parents, siblings and so forth. My clients are often experiencing burnout, overwhelm, masking fatigue, and nervous system dysregulation.
If you’re feeling exhausted, stuck, or like life has become too much to manage, you’re not alone. Many of the people I work with have spent years masking, pushing through, and trying to cope in environments that don’t fit, often leading to burnout, anxiety, shutdown, or loss of identity.
I am an online neurodivergent Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor and EMDR Practitioner that specialises in therapy for autistic, ADHD and AuDHD, otherwise neurodivergent & highly sensitive adults. My clients may be navigating burnout, trauma, and overwhelm, and the therapy I offer is adapted to how your brain works.
You might be:
- Exhausted from masking but unsure who you are underneath
- Functioning on the outside, but overwhelmed inside
- Experiencing shutdowns, burnout, or emotional flooding
- Late-diagnosed (or questioning) and trying to make sense of your life
- Feeling like therapy hasn’t worked for you before
My approach specialises in:
- Autistic/neurodivergent burnout therapy
- ADHD overwhelm & emotional regulation
- Late diagnosis (autism / ADHD / AuDHD)
- Masking, identity & self-trust
- Trauma in neurodivergent adults
- Shutdowns, meltdowns & nervous system overwhelm
I offer a warm, collaborative, relational and down‑to‑earth. Offering a deeply validating space focused on self‑understanding and nervous system regulation. My work is neurodiversity‑affirming and trauma‑informed. Many people may have experienced therapy previously that has meant they feel misunderstood in therapy, pathologised, rather than supported, like they were "too much" or "not enough". My work centres on creating a space where you don't have to perform or translate for yourself.
Many neurodivergent people live with a nervous system that feels more easily overwhelmed. You might notice that stress, sensory input, or social interaction can quickly tip you into anxiety, agitation, or shutdown. This experience is often described as having a narrower window of tolerance: a smaller range in which the nervous system feels settled, flexible, and able to cope.
My work draws on Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. This framework explains how our autonomic nervous system continually scans for safety and influences how we respond: socially, emotionally, and physically.
In simple terms, our nervous system moves between three states:
- Ventral vagal (safe & social): Calm, connected, curious, playful, and open to relationships.
- Sympathetic (fight or flight): Energised, alert, or anxious when we sense danger.
- Dorsal vagal (shutdown or freeze): Numb, detached, or exhausted when threats feel overwhelming.
This can mean moving into hyperarousal or hypoarousal more quickly, and it may take longer or more support to come back to regulation. However, there is wide individual variation, and environment makes a big difference: supportive, sensory-aware, autonomy-respecting contexts can effectively “widen” someone’s window over time, whereas chronic stress, invalidation, or inaccessible environments can narrow it further. In therapy, we can explore simple, sensory-friendly ways to help your nervous system find calm, tailored to what feels right for you.
Some reasons you might come to counselling:
- To talk about burnout, exhaustion, or chronic fatigue that rest and sleep doesn’t fix
- Explore identity, diagnosis, identifying as neurodivergent
- Reflect on sensory needs and self awareness
- Understand shutdowns, meltdowns, or emotional regulation challenges
- Work through grief, redundancy, or relationship challenges
- Reflect on childhood experiences or past trauma
- Build confidence, assertiveness, and self-esteem
- Improve communication or connection in relationships
- Find a greater sense of meaning, stability, and self-compassion
- Make sense of changes, life stages & transitions
- Help to make sense of your thoughts and emotions
- Loss of identity, life transitions, family issues or estrangement
- Navigating or struggling with relationships
How counselling can help:
- Develop coping and relaxation strategies
- Set healthy boundaries and support energy management
- Increase self‑understanding, identity acceptance, and resilience
- Improve communication and relationships
- Reconnect with your strengths and values
- Process trauma
- Build confidence and self‑compassion, so you can speak up for your needs and stay more grounded
- Help you to understand your identity, emotions and what is important
My role is to work alongside you non-judgementally, with empathy, curiosity, and care to help you make sense of your experiences and celebrate your strengths.
Transparent Fees and appointments
Introductory Session
£40-45
50-minute session (half my usual fee)
Perfect for exploring whether we're a good fit to work together. Available as an online or telephone session.
Standard Sessions
50-minute session
Daytime: £80
Evenings (5pm+) £90 (very limited evening availability)
Extended Sessions
90-minute session
Daytime £120
Evenings (5PM+) £135 (very limited evening availability)
For EMDR or counselling/psychotherapy when you need more time for deeper work.
Supervision Fees
I provide integrative supervision for trainee and qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, as well as other health professionals. Fees are £60–£120, depending on requirements.
Concessions and Student Rates
I can offer a limited number of reduced-fee places for counselling and psychotherapy students, as well as others on lower incomes, for therapy, mentoring, or supervision. Reduced fees are often booked with a waiting list.
Training, Groups & Seminars
For training, groups, seminars, or group supervision, please get in touch with your requirements so we can discuss what I can offer.
Mentoring
If you'd like support with your private practice, or if you are a Master's student and need a bit of extra support, I also offer mentoring sessions and would be happy to discuss how I can support you.
To book a 50 minute exploratory session, please email: emmawestoncounselling@proton.me and I’ll reply with available times and confirm your appointment.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have been working with Neurodivergent - autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, otherwise neurodivergent & highly sensitive people since 2012. My Master's research was about adapting therapeutic work to best support neurodivergent people.
I hold an MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice, also a level 6 Certificate in Therapeutic Counselling Supervision, a level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, and a level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling. I am an accredited member of BACP. I am committed to undertaking regular continued professional development. I undertake a minimum of 30 hours CPD per year. I am a Neurodiversity Affirmative therapist.
Continued Professional Development has included:
- EMDR Training
- Recent Neurodiversity conferences at Harvard University
- Dissociative Identity Disorder training with Carolyn Spring
- GSRD Gender, Sexuality and Relationship Diversity
- Workshops run by The National Autistic Society
- Cruse Bereavement Training
- A Child's Grief
- Sudden and Traumatic Death
- Working with Drug and Alcohol Addiction
- Co-dependency
- Working with Sex Addiction
- Working with Self Harm and Self Injury
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Attachment, Relationships, Autism and Learning
- Rewind Therapy Technique for Dealing with Trauma
- Transactional Analysis
- Working with Couples
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Facilitating Groupwork
- Attachment Theory
- Developing your Counselling Model
- Prevent Training
- Motivational Interviewing
- Working with children and young people (Redlands Training)
- Exploring Attachment Narratives in Families - A Seminar with Professor Rudi Dallos
- Working with shame
- Concepts of bereavement
- Applying theories of grief to practice
- Working with end of life clients
- Treating the Addictions with Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, USA
Since completing my Master's, I have worked for a leading counselling awarding body/examinations board on counselling and supervision qualifications from levels 2 to 6. I was employed as a counsellor and Bereavement Lead for a charity and I am now focusing on my private practice specialising in neurodiversity and working with people experiencing burnout, ADHD/AuDHD overwhelm, masking, trauma and making sense of their identity following late diagnosis.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
My Master's research was about working therapeutically with neurodivergent people.
I am experienced in working with loss, grief and bereavement as well as working with people at end of life.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£80.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
My daytime fees are £80.00 per 50 minute session for individuals. Evening fees are £90 per 50 minute appointment. I offer discounted rates to counsellors in training. I have a small number of concessionary spaces for current clients experiencing financial difficulty.
Supervision - Please feel free to contact me if you wish to know more or would like to book an initial appointment.
Please feel free to take a look around my profile, or my website www.emmawstoncounselling.com and please email me to arrange a time for us to speak. I am happy to offer a half price initial exploratory Zoom or phone call to determine if we are a good fit. Once I receive your email, I will then come back to you with suggested times for a phone or Zoom call - whichever works best for you.
I am currently only available online
When I receive an enquiry I aim to respond within 48 hours. Enquiries will receive a reply during weekday office hours. If I receive an enquiry on a Friday or at the weekend, I will respond on a Monday or Tuesday. Occasionally emails go into junk mail and I aim to check my junk mail once a week.
When I work
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Further information
Trauma and Neurodivergence
For many neurodivergent people, trauma is not always a single event. It can be cumulative, relational, and often tied to the ongoing experience of living in environments that don’t fully understand or support your needs.
Autism, AuDHD and ADHD do not cause trauma. However, repeatedly navigating misunderstandings, sensory overwhelm, social exclusion, or pressure to mask can place a significant strain on the nervous system over time. Trauma and neurodivergence often overlap in ways that are complex, and frequently overlooked.
How trauma can show up in neurodivergent people
Trauma responses don’t always look the way they are typically described. In neurodivergent individuals, they can be intertwined with sensory processing, communication differences, and executive functioning.
You might notice:
- Heightened anxiety, hypervigilance, or a constant sense of being “on edge”
- Shutdown, dissociation, or difficulty accessing thoughts and words
- Intense emotional responses or difficulty regulating feelings
- Increased sensory sensitivity or reduced tolerance for stimulation
- Strong reactions to perceived criticism, rejection, or demand
- Chronic exhaustion or cycles of burnout
- These responses are not random; they are adaptive responses from a nervous system that has been under prolonged stress.
The impact of being misunderstood is one of the most significant sources of trauma for neurodivergent people is not being recognised or supported in their differences.
This can include:
- Having your needs dismissed, minimised, or misunderstood
- Being expected to meet demands that exceed your capacity
- Repeated experiences of “getting it wrong” socially or behaviourally
- Pressure to mask or hide your natural ways of being
- Internalising the belief that something is wrong with you
Over time, these experiences can shape how you see yourself and how safe the world feels.
Why a neurodiversity-affirming approach matters
Traditional trauma frameworks don’t always account for neurodivergence. Without this understanding, support can unintentionally focus on changing behaviours rather than recognising the underlying strain.
A neurodiversity-affirming approach understands that:
- Your responses make sense in the context of your experiences
- Some “symptoms” may be linked to unmet sensory or cognitive needs
- Safety is not just emotional, it is also sensory and environmental
This shifts the focus from “what’s wrong?” to “what has your system been adapting to?”
How neurodiversity affirmative trauma informed therapy can help
Therapy offers a space to gently process trauma while also understanding how your neurodivergence shapes your experience.
In our work together, we may focus on:
- Building a sense of safety in your body and environment
- Understanding your trauma responses without judgement
- Supporting emotional regulation in ways that fit your nervous system
- Exploring the impact of masking, burnout, and chronic stress
- Processing past experiences at a pace that feels manageable
- Strengthening self-trust and self-understanding
We move carefully and collaboratively, respecting both your capacity and your autonomy.
A trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming space. My approach integrates trauma-informed care that is neurodiversity affirmative. This means:
- Your experiences are taken seriously and understood in context
- You are not pushed to process before you feel ready
- Your communication style and sensory needs are respected
- Therapy is adapted to work with your brain and body, not against them
Healing is not about forcing change. It’s about creating the conditions where your nervous system no longer has to stay in survival mode.
Please see my website for further information:
www.emmawestoncounselling.com
