Gulsanam Azieva (they/them)

I work a lot with clients who have ADHD and the frustrations and anxieties that comes with it, however, a key factor of our sessions is learning that it is just a skill set that they will have to learn how to control and navigate, rather than try to eliminate.

With the increasing awareness of autism, it is very important to me that clients feel like they can have someone to discuss those symptoms with who won't approach it from a neurotypical lens and help those clients actually understand their experience from an autistic lens. Similarly to ADHD, it is something that needs to be adapted to not eliminated.

One of my favorite things to explore with client's is their self-identity and getting to truly know yourself as a person. And it is my personal belief that exploring one's gender identity is helpful, not only to have the opportunity to reflect and feel secure in one's self, but also to improve self-confidence and self-esteem, a sense of autonomy, and a greater sense of self.

Mindfulness is my primary approach with client's because it is important to me that my clients really self-reflect and take the time to explore what their thought patterns are like. I have found it especially helpful for clients with autism, ADHD, and bipolar who experience high emotionality and connecting with their body can help to identify that emotion.

CBT is most often used with clients who have negative self-thoughts and anxious thoughts and working on coping skills to challenge and change those thought patterns.

I see the value in every different approach and modality in therapy, so I try to tailor my approach to each individual client and their unique, everchanging issues using holistic therapy. I have used mindfulness, CBT, ACT, person-centered, psychodynamic, and DBT all with one client so far depending on what they needed with each session.