Find a Neuroaffirmative Supervisor
When you’re working with people who think differently to ‘most’, you’ll need to work differently too.
Your support network should reflect that - including professional supervision where neurodivergence is understood as a given, not an add-on.
We train Supervisors in our 4 Neuroaffirmative Supervision Lenses, designed to be applied to any situation, person or brain - without requiring a diagnosis or disclosure.
Trained in our ‘Explain, Not Excuse’ Framework™️
Neuroaffirmative Supervision: FAQs
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Supervision, generally, is a structured space to take your practice to someone else - to reflect on it, stay accountable, and to make sure you and your clients are well served with professional oversight. It isn't mandatory in coaching, but is widely recognised as best practice.
Neuroaffirmative / neuro-affirming supervision means supervision that doesn't treat neurodivergence as the problem - in your clients, or in you.
Most supervision wasn't designed with cognitive differences in mind. If your supervisor doesn't understand neurodivergence, misunderstandings can easily arise.
This is often a self-described term - there's no standard behind it, and training on neurodivergence is limited across most industries.
That gap is why we created the first ever dedicated Neuroaffirmative Supervision certification in the world. -
This is the supervision method developed by ADHD Works and taught to the Supervisors listed on this page. This is based on the core pillars of:
Explain, Not Excuse.
Neurodivergence can explain behaviour, but it doesn't remove accountability. Supervision built on this principle creates understanding, clarity and responsibility without shame or blame - so you can support clients in a way that's both compassionate and boundaried.
It's the difference between "that's just my ADHD" and "that's why this happened, and here's what I'm doing about it."
The 4 Neuroaffirmative Lenses™
Every situation gets looked at through four perspectives - the client, the practitioner, the relationship between them, and the wider system.
Neuroaffirmative Supervisors are trained by ADHD Works to adapt these tools and strategies to the person in front of them, meaning that they will meet you exactly as you are.
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No. Supervision is best known in coaching and therapy, but it's useful for anyone whose work involves supporting people.
Supervisors work with therapists, psychologists, coaches, managers, HR, educators, and people in regulated professions such as law and healthcare.
For example, Neuroaffirmative Supervision has become extremely important with the rise of disability disclosures in the workplace.
It's become increasingly relevant in workplaces as disability and neurodivergence disclosures rise.
That might mean supervision brought in from outside as consultancy - or built inside an organisation, with managers trained in neuroaffirmative supervision practices themselves.
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No. Receiving coaching or therapy is typically about you as an individual; supervision is about your work, and the ‘you’ within that context.
Nevertheless, supervisors may use a blend of skills such as mentorship and coaching, and your wellbeing is an important part of your work.
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Sessions are guided by the Neuroaffirmative Supervision framework and shaped by whatever you bring - a specific client, a decision you're stuck on, an ethical question, or how the work itself is landing on you.
You'll reflect on what's happening, build strategies, and strengthen your ethical and safeguarding practice, alongside your own wellbeing and sustainability.
It's collaborative, not hierarchical. Nobody is marking you, and you won’t be in trouble!
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In some professions, supervision is a mandatory requirement - to practise, to qualify, or both. And when something is required, it can quietly become a compliance exercise: hours logged, boxes ticked, nothing much changed.
That isn't what this is. Supervision done well is what keeps your practice safe, ethical and sustainable, and keeps you in the work for the long run.
If you work with people, we strongly recommend having regular Neuroaffirmative Supervision as a space to think and reflect, rather than report and panic - somewhere to take the parts of your work that can't go anywhere else.
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We’d recommend Neuroaffirmative Supervision to and for everybody, because we are all neurodiverse.
This supervision approach isn’t condition-specific. It assumes difference rather than treating it as the exception, and focuses on cooperative, compassionate communication so people are actually understood.
Around 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent, so most practitioners are working with neurodivergent clients whether or not they're aware of it.
Without a neuroaffirmative supervisor, someone who responds differently from what's expected can end up framed as the problem.
This can affect everybody's confidence and self-esteem - and it's entirely avoidable.
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Through your employer.
Many organisations fund supervision directly, or from a professional development or CPD budget - particularly where it's a requirement of the profession.
As a business expense.
If you're self-employed, supervision is a legitimate professional expense. This can be extra important in ensuring that you have a support network in place, especially if you’re working with vulnerable people.
Group supervision.
We train Neuroaffirmative Supervisors to adapt our framework for group supervision, if they’d like to.
Supervisors on this directory list their rates and formats on their profiles, and can tell you more when you get in touch.
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Access to Work funds support related to a health condition that impacts you at work, and ADHD coaching is a common example.
Supervision is different: it's about your work with clients rather than support for you, so it doesn't usually fit the categories that Access to Work funds.
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Use the filters to narrow by profession, format and availability, then get in touch directly via the link provided on their profile.
It’s worth looking out for any supervisors who may share a background or understanding of your professional world, including the jargon and pressures involved.
You may also wish to consider whether you’d feel comfortable telling them about something that went badly.
Supervision only works if you bring the difficult things, so trust is key. All of our Supervisors are trained extensively on Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and safeguarding.
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Practitioners set their own rates, which vary by country and experience. Prices are shown on profiles where people have chosen to include them.
Practitioners may also offer discounted or sliding scale rates, and/or scholarships, as detailed on their profile.
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No. The Matching Directory is only for people who have trained with us - it's how we keep the listings consistent and verifiable. We aren't able to list practitioners who have not trained with ADHD Works.
The Supervisors listed here have taken part in training with ADHD Works. They are independent professionals - they are not employed by or affiliated with ADHD Works.