Specialist psychotherapy and counselling, matched to your needs

When one or both partners are neurodivergent, differences in attention, communication, emotional processing and sensory needs can affect everyday life together. Without an understanding of these differences, couples can spend years feeling hurt, criticised or misunderstood.

Neurodiversity is part of the picture. Your individual histories, responsibilities and experiences together also shape your relationship. Understanding how these factors interact can help both of you recognise what is happening and decide what needs to change.

When people hear the term narcissistic abuse, they often think of romantic relationships. Similar patterns can also develop within families, where one person’s emotional needs, moods and version of events come to shape the behaviour of everyone around them.

In these families, love and approval may feel conditional. A child can learn that belonging depends on being compliant, successful, useful or emotionally undemanding. Another child may become the focus of blame whenever something goes wrong. Over time, each person finds a way of adapting to the family environment, often carrying that role long into adult life.

London is a melting pot of people from a huge range of countries, languages and cultures. People with very different backgrounds meet here every day, which means that one apparently simple question often comes up in the first few minutes of getting to know someone: “Where are you from?”

There are periods in some relationships when the central question is no longer how to resolve a particular disagreement, improve communication, or reconnect emotionally. Instead, the relationship itself comes into question. Couples may find themselves wondering whether the difficulties they are experiencing can be worked through, whether the relationship has reached a natural conclusion, or whether they have simply lost sight of one another beneath years of conflict, disappointment, stress, or unmet needs.

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme, Take Action, highlights something many people already know deeply: recognising that something is wrong is not always the hardest part. Often, the hardest part is taking the first step.

Neurodiverse couples therapy often focuses on difficulties that can easily be misunderstood as incompatibility, lack of effort, or poor communication. In relationships where ADHD or other forms of neurodivergence are present, these challenges are usually rooted in differences in how each partner processes information, manages emotions, and experiences connection.

These differences are not always obvious at first. Many couples spend months or years trying to resolve the same issues, without realising that they are approaching them from fundamentally different ways of thinking and responding.

Living abroad is often associated with opportunity. A new country can bring a sense of movement, new beginnings, different ways of living, and the possibility of reshaping parts of your life. For many people, there is something energising about stepping outside of what is familiar, whether that is driven by career, relationships, or a desire for change.

At the same time, living in a different environment does not simply add new experiences. It also changes the conditions in which you exist. The same person, in a different context, can begin to experience themselves differently. The same relationship, placed under different circumstances, can start to function in ways that were not previously visible.

If you have ever wondered why you stayed, why you still feel drawn back, or why the relationship felt impossible to leave, you are not alone. Many people caught in narcissistic or emotionally manipulative relationships describe a powerful attachment that does not make sense on the surface. They may feel ashamed, confused, or frustrated with themselves, asking why they did not leave sooner or why they still care about someone who has caused them harm.

Although most of our therapists work in person in Blackheath Village, many also see clients online. Both formats are well established and widely used. Research suggests that each can be effective, but they do not suit everyone in the same way.

The more helpful question is often not which format is better, but which one is more likely to work for you at this point in your life.

Art therapy provides a structured therapeutic framework that does not rely solely on verbal reflection. Working with images and materials can support the exploration of experiences that feel difficult to articulate or that have been set aside in the course of ongoing professional demands. The group context also allows for shared recognition of emotional strain.

What makes therapy work? It is a question many people ask when they are thinking about starting.

When people first consider therapy, they often imagine it as a simple exchange: they will talk about their problems, and the therapist will listen and offer advice. Whilst talking is certainly part of the process, this view misses something fundamental about what makes therapy effective. The therapeutic relationship itself is not just the container for the work; it is often the mechanism of change.

Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy, or DIT, is a structured, time-limited psychodynamic approach that focuses on understanding patterns of relating and emotional experience. Whilst it has traditionally been used in mainstream mental health settings, when thoughtfully adapted for autistic individuals, DIT offers something particularly valuable: a framework for fostering self-understanding and relational wellbeing that respects and affirms autistic identity rather than attempting to change it.

A year later, we are thirteen therapists working across two rooms. We have supported individuals, couples, young people, and older adults with everything from relational trauma and ADHD to psychosexual difficulties and life transitions. The breadth of experience and specialism each therapist brings has made the practice what it is today.

Together we offer therapy in eleven different approaches and nine languages, reflecting the diversity of the clients we serve and the community we belong to.

When people think of ADHD, they often picture what is most visible: difficulty focusing, restlessness, impulsivity and forgetfulness. These are the traits that others notice first, the behaviours that get labelled, the symptoms that make it into diagnostic criteria. Yet these visible signs are only a small part of the full picture.

Late ADHD diagnosis, particularly in adults diagnosed in their thirties, forties, or beyond, often triggers a profound mourning process. This isn't the straightforward grief we associate with losing someone we love. It's more complicated, more ambiguous. You're mourning a version of yourself that never got to exist, opportunities that slipped away, and decades spent believing harmful narratives about your character, such as thinking that there is something wrong with you.

When someone we care about is experiencing domestic abuse, our instinct is often to offer what seems like obvious advice: "Just leave." It appears straightforward, remove yourself from the harmful situation and start fresh. However, this well-intentioned counsel frequently misses the complex psychological, practical, and safety considerations that survivors face. Understanding why "just leave" isn't helpful advice is crucial for anyone supporting someone through domestic abuse, and for survivors themselves who may be struggling with guilt about why leaving feels so difficult.