The therapy for you
Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs), Empaths, Trauma Survivors, and Neurodiverse
HSPs, empaths, trauma survivors, and neurodiverse individuals may find that traditional talk therapy isn’t effective for their needs. While talk therapy can be very helpful it is not the only effective method of therapy.
The information below is not meant to discredit talk therapy, or imply that talk therapy cannot help people in these communities. It is only intended to offer more options for therapy.
Why talk therapy may not feel right for you
For neurodiverse individuals, talk therapy may at times feel unproductive or circular, offering limited progress toward their personal goals. As talk therapy primarily emphasizes the reframing and replacement of negative thought patterns, it can inadvertently overlook the physical and sensory dimensions of lived experience. Consequently, neurodiverse individuals may perceive this approach as invalidating, particularly when their sensory processing challenges—often central to their experiences—are not acknowledged. Talk therapy typically employs a “top-down” approach, seeking to understand experiences through cognitive and linguistic processes. However, when addressing trauma or stress that is somatically stored, this method may fall short in effectively engaging with the embodied aspects of these experiences.
How can alternative and holistic therapy help
The limitations of talk therapy, as previously noted, can be effectively addressed through alternative and holistic therapeutic approaches. These modalities recognize and engage the interconnectedness of the body, mind, and spirit, often utilizing a “bottom-up” framework that incorporates sensory inputs as essential components of the therapeutic process. By attending to both physical and psychological dimensions of experience, these approaches offer a more comprehensive form of healing. For individuals and communities with heightened sensory sensitivity, therapies that prioritize the embodied, felt sense of experiences may prove more effective than those that focus exclusively on cognitive processes.
