Making Sense of My Neurodivergent Self: Neurodiversity-affirming Group Programme
Written by Dr Sara Tookey
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
Quick Recap
A new eight-session group programme for autistic, ADHD and AuDHD adults, sitting alongside our one-to-one Post-Diagnostic Support
No formal diagnosis required, self-identifying adults are welcome
Multidisciplinary: psychology, occupational therapy, nursing/medical, and lived experience
Moves through understanding, body, emotion, communication, identity, energy and sustainable living, session by session
You'll build your own personal Neurodivergent User Manual as you go
Launch details (format, dates, booking) are still being finalised, register your interest to hear first
Since launching our Post-Diagnostic Support offering, many of you have asked us the same question: is there a group option? We're delighted to share that the answer is yes, and to introduce Making Sense of My Neurodivergent Self, a new group programme currently in development.
What is the Neurodiversity-affirming Group Programme?
This is an eight-session, neurodiversity-affirming group programme for adults exploring autism, ADHD and AuDHD. It's designed for people who have received a formal diagnosis, are awaiting or considering assessment, or self-identify as neurodivergent. A formal diagnosis is not required to take part, and the group is not itself a diagnostic assessment.
The programme is grounded in an understanding that neurodivergence represents difference rather than deficit, while being equally clear that neurodivergent people can experience genuine disability, distress and exhaustion. Difficulty is understood as arising not just from an individual's neurodevelopmental profile, but from the interaction between that profile and environments and expectations that are often poorly matched to it.
The Eight Sessions
The sessions form a developmental arc, moving from understanding neurodivergence and personal cognitive style, through body, emotion, communication and identity, towards recognising energy patterns and building more sustainable ways of living.
Making Sense of Neurodivergence - difference, diagnosis, self-identification, and person-environment fit
How My Brain Works - attention, executive functioning, and processing differences
Living in a Sensory Body - sensory processing, interoception, and regulation
Understanding Emotions - emotional intensity, alexithymia, and delayed processing
Communication & Relationships - communication styles, double empathy, and connection
Masking, Identity & Internalised Ableism - masking, compensation, and self-compassion
Energy, Overload & Burnout - capacity, fluctuating energy, and recovery
Working With My Neurotype - adjustments, self-advocacy, and sustainable living
Every session follows the same predictable rhythm: arriving and checking in, accessible psychoeducation, an invitation to recognise how the material might show up personally, practical responses and strategies, and space to reflect on what's being learned. Any observations or exercises between sessions are offered as invitations, never homework.
Who's Involved
The programme is intentionally multidisciplinary. Psychology provides the overarching framework, with specialist contributions from occupational therapy (sensory processing and daily functioning), nursing and medical input (including realistic, balanced discussion of ADHD medication), and lived experience, offered as situated, complementary knowledge rather than a universal account of what it means to be neurodivergent.
What You'll Take Away
As the programme progresses, participants build their own Neurodivergent User Manual, a personal, evolving record of how their brain and body work, what they need, what costs them, and what genuinely helps. It's designed to be something you carry with you long after the group ends.
The programme also creates space for a rare experience: being alongside others who recognise similar patterns and questions. Any sense of community that develops is held lightly, without pressure to share, belong in a particular way, or stay in contact beyond the group. Attendees that choose to stay connected will be supported to do so following the programme.
What's Next
We're still finalising launch details, including format, dates and how to book, and we didn't want to wait until everything was confirmed to let you know it's coming.
Want to be first to hear when places open?
Practical takeaway: If you've completed an ADHD, autism or AuDHD assessment recently (with us or elsewhere), or you're beginning to understand yourself through a neurodivergent lens, this programme is being built with you in mind. Registering your interest costs nothing and carries no obligation, it simply means we'll let you know as soon as it's ready.
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At True North Psychology we provide a neurodiversity-affirming and inclusive approach to therapy and post diagnostic support - listening to neurodivergent voices and providing appropriate accommodations and approaches to supportive our clients and staff.
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