Venecia Howson

Real change begins with feeling safe and that’s where we start.

Many of the people I work with describe feeling “numb,” “on autopilot,” or “like I’m watching life happen.” Others seem capable on the outside but feel anxious or lost inside. Our sessions offer a space to breathe, make sense of what’s been overwhelming, and begin to trust your own rhythm again.

I’m a trauma-informed, neuro-affirming counsellor offering online sessions across the UK and in-person therapy in Barnet and Camden. My approach is curious, collaborative, and grounded in real understanding.

You might have spent years holding things together, feeling disconnected, anxious or wondering why it’s so hard to relax or trust yourself. Maybe you’ve experienced trauma, burnout, or relationships that left you doubting your own feelings. Have you had the feeling of difference, of being set apart.

Perhaps you’re neurodivergent, autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, newly or later diagnosed, and still exploring what that means for you. You might have learned to mask to get through, or be questioning whether a diagnosis would help. However you arrive, you don’t have to face it alone. Counselling can help you begin to feel like yourself.

Together, we explore what’s happening not only in your life but also in your mind and body by noticing patterns, sensations, and emotions so you can reconnect with yourself in ways that feel safe and real. If connecting to feelings feels difficult, that's okay, we’ll start wherever it makes sense for you.

As a neurodivergent counsellor myself, I bring both lived and professional experience. I blend logic, theory, and understanding to help you find approaches that work for your brain and your life with the aim to make therapy accessible, meaningful and actually useful.

We’ll work at your pace, following what feels possible for you, rather than a one size fits all approach.

If you’re ready to begin, I offer a free 20-minute consultation to see whether working together feels right.

How I can help

Hold a safe, validating and empowering space where you are understood and appreciated

Welcome in any and all emotions and work through them together

Ensure I am ethical, safe and the work is at your pace to avoid retraumatisation

Exploring together what happens for you in your mind and body in certain situations and how to manage that

Building practical, science backed skills that you actually find helpful, tailored to you individually, not cut and paste

Make links to how what happened in your history is alive in you today and how to make peace with it

Fostering self-awareness of how you work and your unique values/skills/goals

Empowerment. Self-compassion. The foundation of feeling better about yourself and feeling more confident.

Please contact me to discuss current availability 

Support for trauma, anxiety and shutdown in neurodivergent experience.

You might look like you’re coping, thinking clearly, holding things together, getting through what needs to be done.

But inside, it feels different.

You may feel overwhelmed, anxious, or emotionally shut down.

Or as though you’re watching life happen rather than fully in it.

Many of the people I work with describe feeling “too much” or “too sensitive,” while at the same time feeling disconnected, exhausted, or burnt out from masking.

Others are highly self-aware, but still feel stuck in patterns that don’t shift.

I specialise in supporting people experiencing:

• ADHD, Autism, AuDHD and other neurodivergent experiences (including those exploring this)
• Anxiety that feels constant or hard to explain
• Shutdown, numbness and dissociation
• Overwhelm and masking exhaustion
• Trauma (including childhood, relational and complex trauma)
• Feeling disconnected from yourself, your emotions, or your identity

How I work

My approach is relational, trauma-informed, neuro-affirming and anti-oppressive.

I don’t see you as something to fix, but as someone whose responses make sense in the context of your life, your identity, and your experiences.

Rather than focusing only on what you say, we pay attention to what happens as you speak, in your thoughts, your body, and your responses.

We might notice:

when your mind goes blank or things feel hard to access

when you move into analysing rather than feeling

when overwhelm or shutdown begins to take over

These are not problems to push through. They are meaningful patterns, and we take time to understand them.

Getting in touch

If this feels like the kind of support you’re looking for, you’re welcome to get in touch to arrange an initial consultation.

You don’t need to have the right words, just a sense that something here resonates.

I work in an active and relational way. If you feel stuck in sessions, we can work through that together rather than staying in it alone.

As a neurodivergent therapist, I understand that accessibility looks different for each person. I offer a flexible, responsive space that can adapt to you, even if you’re not yet sure what you need.

What therapy can support you with:

• feel more connected to yourself and your emotions
• understand your patterns with more clarity and less self-criticism
• reduce anxiety, overwhelm or shutdown
• feel more steady and grounded day-to-day
• build safer, more fulfilling relationships

Clients often describe feeling clearer, less overwhelmed, and more able to be themselves.