Ringwood Psychology promotes a ‘Neurodiversity Affirming’ (NDA) approach, which embraces and values individual differences.

We encourage recognising that brains, just like bodies, are built and function differently, resulting in varying strengths, challenges, talents, interests and styles of behaving and communicating.

Our goal is to promote the need for society as a whole to better understand that there are different brain types. This approach has been shown to result in more effective communication and greater harmony between people, and within individuals.

Our belief is that so much anxiety, tension, anguish, conflict, disappointment and pain (both physical and emotional) stems from a lack of acknowledgement, understanding and appreciation that neural (brain type) differences exist.

Just like Android and Apple systems, therapy can focus on educating clients on how to get two different operating systems working together effectively.

In our experience, many individuals, families and community groups stop at the point of identifying neural differences eg Neurotypical or Neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHDer, Dyslexic etc), whereas our therapists believe that this is just the beginning.

The next step is attaining a thorough knowledge of exactly what that means and the impact on how an individual behaves, thinks and experiences the world and the people around them. We totally encourage that the people around you need to do the same investigating – after-all, communication is a two-way process.

We do not find it helpful to conceptualise human differences as deficits needing fixing.

Our approach is to encourage and educate individuals, families and society as a whole to be more knowledgeable about neural/brain differences (and therefore more tolerant and understanding), and to see the function and advantageous offerings in differences rather than shut them down or attempt to change them to fit a predetermined mould.

Our Principal Psychologist at Ringwood Psychology often says:

“Our bodies are different, we have different strengths, weaknesses, abilities, interests etc. This person might have longer legs so they can run faster, but another person has stronger heart and lung function, others are shorter, so they might have better balance etc.”

“All of our bodies are built physically different, so why on earth would we imagine that our brains (the most complex and least understood of all parts!) would be built and operate all the same way? Ridiculous.”

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