Neurodiversity‑Affirming Therapy for Neurodivergent Adults in Oregon
Expressive Arts Therapy for people who need more than talking
You’ve spent years trying to make your brain and body behave in ways they were never meant to.
You’ve masked, pushed, adapted, over‑functioned, shut down, and kept going long after your system said “enough.”
I work with neurodivergent adults across Oregon who are done pretending.
My therapy approach is expressive‑arts‑based and neurodiversity‑affirming — a place where you can move, create, and feel without having to explain or justify your experience.
Together we work through ADHD burnout, autistic burnout, sensory overload, masking fatigue, and the identity shifts that come with late‑diagnosed autism.
Sound familiar?
You’re competent and thoughtful—but everyday life seems to cost you more energy than it should.
You spend a lot of time managing yourself—your reactions, your tone, your pace—just to make it through the day.
Rest doesn’t fully restore you, because your mind keeps processing even when everything else stops.
You’ve learned how to explain yourself, cope, and push through… but there’s still a lingering sense that you’re not actually living in a way that fits how you work.
And part of you is starting to wonder:
“What if I’ve been trying to function in a way that was never actually designed for me?”
👉 Explore neurodiversity‑affirming expressive arts therapy for burnout, masking, and overwhelm.
Signs you might be experiencing burnout or feeling stuck
Some days everything feels loud — the world, the work, even your own thoughts. You take a break, but the mess is still there. Therapy isn’t about erasing the noise; it’s about finding steadier ground inside it.
Why talking hasn’t been enough
Because your nervous system doesn’t heal through words alone.
Expressive arts therapy gives you ways to move, sense, imagine, and create your way through what’s happening inside you. It’s not about making art. It’s about accessing parts of your experience that talking can’t reach — the places where overwhelm lives in your body, where shutdown happens, where masking takes root.
This work is gentle, experiential, and grounded in your pace. It meets your brain and body where they actually are, not where they “should” be.
What often starts to shift
What begins to shift in this work isn’t dramatic or sudden — it’s subtle, but deeply meaningful.
Many clients start noticing parts of their inner world that once felt vague or unreachable. It becomes easier to recognize what’s happening inside — emotionally, mentally, and physically — without rushing to fix or override it.
At the same time, something else softens.
There’s less internal fighting. Less of the constant sense of pushing against yourself just to make it through the day.
Gradually, a different kind of experience emerges:
More connection to yourself — sometimes for the first time in years.
Less conflict with your own mind, body, or reactions.
For many neurodivergent adults, this feels both relieving and a little exposing — like finally being seen clearly while realizing how long you’ve carried things alone.
We move gently with that. There’s no pressure to “open up” faster than feels safe. Just space to start relating to yourself in a way that feels more accurate — and less like a battle.
This kind of expressive arts therapy supports ADHD burnout, autistic burnout, and sensory overload by helping you reconnect with your own rhythm.
The Container
All sessions are held online.
This is an intentional part of the work—not a limitation.
For many neurodivergent adults, meeting from your own space can reduce sensory overwhelm, social pressure, and the need to “perform” in a clinical environment. It can also make it easier to stay connected to yourself during the session, rather than managing the experience of being in a new or overstimulating space.
We can also integrate expressive arts in a very simple way at home—using paper, drawing materials, or objects you already have. If you prefer, you can prepare a small curated set of materials ahead of time so everything is ready for you when we begin.
The structure is flexible, but the container is consistent: we meet online, and we shape the process around what supports your nervous system best.
Because I work via telehealth across Oregon, you can show up from the environment that feels safest for your nervous system.
At this time, I do not offer in-person sessions.
You Don’t Need Fixing — You Need Support That Fits How Your Brain and Nervous System Work
You’re capable and thoughtful — but you’ve spent years masking, over‑functioning, or explaining yourself in a world that wasn’t designed for how you process.
If you’re late‑diagnosed or self‑suspecting autistic or ADHD, you may have found that “talking it through” doesn’t always bring relief or regulation. Expressive arts therapy offers a different way in — one that works through movement, imagery, and sensory awareness instead of endless analysis.
I primarily work with women and also welcome adults of other genders who resonate with this approach.
You don’t need fixing. You need support that honors how your brain and body actually work — and space to rediscover what feels like you.
Hi, I’m Lisa
I work with neurodivergent adults using expressive arts therapy that meets your brain and body where they are.
Many of my clients are highly self-aware. They can describe their patterns clearly, analyze their experiences deeply, and often have spent years in therapy or self-reflection trying to “figure it out.”
And yet… they still feel disconnected from themselves in a way that words haven’t fully resolved.
My work centers around helping people move from understanding themselves in theory to actually experiencing themselves with more clarity and less internal conflict.
I’m an expressive arts therapist, which means we don’t rely on conversation alone.
We use creative, sensory-based, and reflective processes to help you access parts of your experience that are often harder to reach through talking—especially when you’ve spent years masking, overthinking, or adapting to environments that don’t fit how your nervous system works.
In this work, things often begin to shift in subtle but meaningful ways:
you start to recognize what you’re feeling sooner, understand your internal patterns more clearly, and feel less like you are constantly at odds with yourself.
Therapy with me is not about performing, explaining yourself well, or getting it “right.”
It’s about creating enough space and safety to start relating to yourself differently.
Kind words from colleagues
I’m thankful that others have shared their thoughts. Here's what they say.
Heidi H - social worker
“Lisa brings compassion and presence into her work and creates a safe space for clients to be seen and heard.”
Jenny C - fellow therapist
“I have had the honor to work with her as a colleague and have personally felt supported, heard, and affirmed in my own tender creative exploration.”
Ready to explore whether this fits?
If something in this resonates—especially that sense of overthinking yourself without ever quite landing in self-understanding—you’re welcome to reach out.
This isn’t about deciding everything right away.
It’s simply a space to see whether working together feels like a fit, and whether this kind of approach feels supportive for how your mind and nervous system actually work.