I know what it’s like to carry the weight of misunderstanding.

For many years, I lived under misdiagnoses and masked my differences to fit expectations. Like many of my clients, I felt the pressure to strive harder, to meet standards that left me drained, and to pretend everything was fine even when it wasn’t. That disconnect—between who I truly was and who I thought I had to be—was exhausting.

Discovering my own neurodivergence later in life was a turning point. It was not a quick or easy process. It brought grief for the years I spent misunderstanding myself, but also relief in finally having language for my experience. It permitted me to step away from the “shoulds” that had defined so much of my life and to begin cultivating a more authentic way of being.

That journey shapes not only how I live, but also how I practice therapy, and remains central to my journey toward becoming yourself, a process of unlearning, self-acceptance, and becoming more fully who we are.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
- Carl Gustav Jung

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A Blend of Personal & Professional Experience

As a neurodiversity affirming therapist and Registered Social Worker (RSW), I’ve spent 15 + years in mental health supporting neurodivergent adults. I discovered my own neurodivergence later in life, which helps me recognize the realities many clients face—masking, sensory overwhelm, chronic invalidation, difficult transitions—and how isolating it can feel when those experiences are dismissed.

Much of this work includes offering neuroaffirming ADHD therapy for adults in Ontario, particularly for individuals navigating executive functioning challenges, burnout, late diagnosis, and long-standing self-criticism.

Therapy here is not about erasing difference; it’s a collaborative space to understand yourself more deeply, practice workable strategies, and cultivate compassion for parts of you that worked hard to get through an often-demanding world.

This perspective also shapes how I provide autism therapy support in Ontario, with care centred on identity development, masking fatigue, nervous system regulation, and creating space for authentic self-expression.

Education, Registration & Training

Evidence-informed approaches I draw from (tailored to your goals): ACT, CBT, DBT, CFT, Motivational Interviewing, IFS-informed, and polyvagal-informed practices.

My work is relational, client-centred, trauma-informed, strengths-based, humanistic, and existential.

Professional training tools; lived experience deepens my empathy. Both shape how I listen, pace sessions, and collaborate.

HBA

University of Toronto

BSW

Dalhousie University

MSW

University of Windsor

Registered Social Worker (RSW)

Ontario College of Social Workers
and Social Service Workers
(OCSWSSW)

Core Values in Therapy

Understanding: Time and space to be heart without expectation or criticism

Compassion: A kinder stance toward yourself, grounded in curiosity rather than harshness.

Acceptance: Working with what’s present—identity, history, current realities, so change is realistic and sustainable.

Non-judgmental: A safe, steady place to reflect at your own pace

How We’ll Work Together

Collaborative & Paced

We choose focus areas together and move at a tolerable rhythm.

Practical When Helpful

Tools for executive function, emotion regulation, and communication, adapted to fit you.

Virtual Across Ontario

Secure online counselling in Ontario makes therapy more accessible wherever you live.

Michael Holker, RSW

Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapist in Ontario