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Does this sound familiar?
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You feel exhausted from masking or constantly trying to meet expectations.
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Everyday tasks sometimes feel much harder than they seem like they “should.”
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Noise, transitions, competing demands, or social interaction can leave you overwhelmed.
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You struggle with motivation, task initiation, organization, or executive functioning.
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You’ve been described as too sensitive, intense, distracted, rigid, or emotional.
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You understand yourself intellectually but still carry shame about how you function.
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You’re wondering whether you might be autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, or otherwise neurodivergent.
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Previous therapy left you feeling misunderstood—or like you were the problem that needed to be fixed.
You may be looking for support because:
You Don’t Need a Diagnosis to Belong Here
Erica welcomes children, teens and adults who are formally diagnosed, self-identified, late-identified, or just beginning to explore whether they may be autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, highly sensitive, or otherwise neurodivergent. You may also be navigating anxiety, trauma, depression, relationship difficulties, or years of feeling misunderstood. Erica also provides LGBTQ+ affirming therapy for neurodivergent clients navigating identity.
You don’t need to arrive with the right language or a clear explanation of what is happening. We can begin with your lived experience and explore it together.
Neurodivergent-affirming therapy recognizes that different brains have different needs. The goal is not to eliminate harmless traits, force eye contact, increase masking, or teach you to tolerate environments that continually overwhelm you. We work together to understand what supports your nervous system, relationships, identity, and quality of life.
What We Can Work Through Together
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Masking and identity
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Neurodivergent burnout
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Executive dysfunction and task initiation
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Sensory overwhelm
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Emotional regulation
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Rejection sensitivity and shame
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Late diagnosis or identity exploration
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Anxiety, perfectionism, and overthinking
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Trauma from chronic misunderstanding or exclusion
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Self-advocacy and accommodations
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Boundaries and communication
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Relationships and mixed-neurotype dynamics
I use Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts work to help you understand the different responses happening inside you with more curiosity and less judgment.
One part of you may feel completely exhausted, while another keeps pushing you to do more. A part may fear disappointing people, falling behind, or being seen as lazy. Another may believe that masking, overachieving, or ignoring your needs is the only way to stay accepted and connected.
These parts aren’t flaws. They often developed ways of protecting you in environments that didn’t understand or accommodate your brain. Together, we can listen to what they’re carrying, understand what they need, and begin creating a life that doesn’t require you to work against yourself.
This work is available as individual therapy.
50-minute in-person and virtual sessions
How I work
Understanding Your Parts—Not Fighting Them
Questions and Answers
Do I need a diagnosis to work with you?
No. Many of the people I work with are self-identified, late-diagnosed, or still figuring out whether they might be autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, or otherwise neurodivergent. You do not need a formal evaluation or the right language before we begin. We start with your lived experience and explore it from there.
What is the difference between neurodivergent-affirming therapy and regular therapy?
Neurodivergent-affirming therapy does not treat your brain as a problem to be corrected. Instead of focusing on compliance, eye contact, or reducing traits that are simply part of how you are wired, we work to understand what your nervous system needs, reduce shame, and build a life that fits you rather than one that requires constant masking.
What is executive dysfunction, and can therapy help with it?
Executive dysfunction is the difficulty many ADHD and autistic people experience with starting tasks, switching between them, managing time, and following through — even on things they genuinely want to do. It is not laziness or a character flaw. In therapy we use Internal Family Systems (IFS) to understand the parts of you that get stuck or overwhelmed, and to build more self-compassion and practical strategies around those moments.
What is rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)?
Rejection sensitive dysphoria is an intense emotional response to perceived criticism, failure, or rejection that is common in people with ADHD. It can feel sudden and overwhelming, and it often affects relationships and self-worth. Therapy can help you recognize RSD when it happens, understand what it is carrying, and respond to yourself with more care.
Written by Erica Smalla, LCSWA, Certified IFS Therapist. Erica provides neurodivergent-affirming therapy in Concord, NC and online throughout North Carolina, with a focus on ADHD, autism, AuDHD, and the ways that masking, burnout, and rejection sensitivity show up in everyday life.