I’m Emma Ottenhoff, a neurodivergent therapist who works with deeply feeling children, teens, and adults. My work is grounded in connection, authenticity, and a neurodiversity-affirming lens.
I offer relational and experiential therapy for clients who have felt misunderstood, overwhelmed, or like traditional therapy hasn’t quite fit.
Therapist,
Neurodivergent,
Human
I don’t see neurodivergence as something to fix. Instead, I help clients build self-understanding, skills, and confidence to navigate their lives with greater clarity, compassion, and choice. My goal is to support people in moving out of survival mode and toward a life guided by their values, needs, and authentic selves.
Because you deserve support that honors who you are.
Why I Do This Work
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Michigan
- Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), Rhode Island
- Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist (CCAT)
- Advanced training in experiential and community-based therapy
- Advanced training in suicide and self-harm assessment, safety planning, and stabilization
- Advanced training in affirming, supportive care for LGBTQ+ clients
- Certificate in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Training & Licensure
My approach is relational, experiential, and deeply neurodiversity-affirming. I prioritize emotional safety, collaboration, and authenticity, adapting therapy to each client’s needs rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all model. I honor neurodivergence as a natural variation of human experience while supporting clients in building skills, self-understanding, and confidence to navigate an imperfect world with greater ease and intention.
My Approach to Therapy
trauma
stress management
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
passive suicidal ideation
Self harm
Identity exploration
highly-sensitive people
Late-diagnosed & High-Masking Autism
Autism + ADHD (Audhd)
Adhd
Anxiety
therapeutic specialties
I recognize that many challenges clients face are shaped by broader social, cultural, and institutional systems, not personal failure, and I support clients in building skills, self-understanding, and agency as they navigate an imperfect world.
Community-Based & Systems-Informed Background
Extensive experience supporting children, teens, and adults navigating anxiety, shame, perfectionism, high emotional intensity, and periods of self-harm.
Experience With Complex Needs
As a Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist, I integrate experiential approaches that support insight, regulation, and real-life skill building.
Experiential & Adventure Therapy Training
I work from a neurodivergent-affirming lens, honoring authentic ways of thinking, feeling, and relating rather than pathologizing difference.
neurodivergent affirming therapy
