How can therapy empower disabled people to navigate a world that often isn’t built for them?
In 2025, you might assume society has adapted to the needs of disabled people, look at all the disabled parking bays! Yet the stark reality is that many disabled people still struggle to access therapy.
Many therapists hesitate too, deciding therapy has little to offer based on the assumption that disability is purely an individual medical condition that isn’t ‘fixable’. Because of this perception, at Spokz People CIC, a disability affirmative therapy service, we regularly receive referrals from those who hesitate to engage with disabled clients.
But this perspective misses a crucial point: disabled people don’t need fixing. What they need is support in navigating a society that frequently excludes them.
Rather than an individual’s impairment being the primary source of distress, much emotional pain stems from early childhood experiences and the way disabled people are treated in a world not designed for them. The psychological impact of living in an exclusionary world – where inaccessible spaces, microaggressions, and systemic barriers are common – can be overwhelming. Just as racism has a cumulative effect on mental health, so does daily ‘ableism’.
Disability-affirmative therapy provides a space to process these challenges, develop resilience, address internalised oppression, and build a stronger sense of identity in the face of exclusion. It is not about changing the individual, it is about equipping them with the tools to thrive in an environment that frequently works against them.
Therapy can help people with disabilities manage difficult interactions, reframe unavoidable situations, and identify when to advocate for accessibility and when to conserve emotional energy. It can also support them in fostering pride in their identity and connecting with the wider disabled community. Learning how to respond to discrimination, reframing unchangeable circumstances, and strengthening self-advocacy skills can be transformative. Therapy isn’t just about the external world, it’s also about undoing the internalised messages that disabled people absorb, from imposter syndrome to feelings of inadequacy.
Many disabled people still struggle to access suitable therapy, either due to a lack of physically accessible spaces or because they cannot find a therapist who truly understands their experiences. But when therapy is approached through a disability-affirmative lens, it can be profoundly empowering not only for the client but for the therapist as well.
Working with disabled clients offers therapists an opportunity for personal and professional growth, encouraging deeper self-awareness and a greater understanding of the mind-body connection. It challenges the outdated view of disability as merely a medical issue, and instead highlights the social structures that create barriers.
To truly empower disabled people through therapy, therapists must take active steps – not just in their approach to therapeutic techniques but ensuring their practice is accessible by providing clear access guides, being flexible with appointment times to accommodate any medical needs, and confronting their fears and unconscious biases about disability.
When therapists acknowledge the broader picture of exclusion, therapy becomes an experience of empowerment rather than further marginalisation.
