For The Deep Feelers & Big Hearted People Pleasers - With Alice Bramhill

With Alice Bramhill, Interpersonal Psychotherapist
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For creative neurodivergent folk dismantling shame, seeking liberation from the norms & building lives and relationships that work. With a generous sprinkling of joy. By Alice Bramhill - Interpersonal Psychotherapist, Coach, Unschooling Parent & Author. alicebramhill.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Aug 19

    In conversation with Lesley MacNiven, Activist and Writer

    If you’re parenting a neurodivergent child inside a system that keeps asking them to be someone else, this conversation is for you. I talked to Lesley, writer and activist, mother to two neurodivergent children, about what happens when the systems around us refuse to bend. Lesley co-founded Repair Edinburgh, a parent-led campaign group supporting families with additional support needs, after watching the education system fail her own children. We talked about what it means to advocate for a child inside a system built for compliance rather than difference, and why she chose to speak for her children instead of asking someone else to do it. We also talked about the gendered side of neurodivergence and long COVID, and how disabled people keep getting left out of conversations about marginalisation, even within movements meant to include everyone. We got into the missed opportunity of remote work during the pandemic too. Lesley is a former leadership development consultant and a founding member of Long COVID Support. Her graphic novel was longlisted for the Myriad Editions First Graphic Novel Award. Links discussed: Repair Edinburgh Darren McGarvey Caro Giles Penny Wincer Big Love, Alice This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    In conversation with Lesley MacNiven, Activist and Writer

  2. May 8

    Alice Talks with Eliza Fricker, Author and Illustrator

    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    Alice Talks with Eliza Fricker, Author and Illustrator

  3. Feb 17

    Art, Unmasking and the Identity Crisis Nobody Warned Us About, with Artist Meg Fatharley

    Interpersonal with Alice Bramhill is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This conversation was one of those that just flew. Meg Fartherley is an artist and printmaker whose work is as honest as she is, exploring mental health, identity and her own late discovery of neurodivergence through the most beautiful embossing and illustration. We talked about what happens when the thing that saved you, the art, the hyperfocus, the creative obsession, starts to look a lot like a coping mechanism you need to unpick. About the identity crisis that comes with unmasking when you don’t know which parts were really you. About being failed by systems that were supposed to support you and carrying on anyway. And about what it means to be a late discovered neurodivergent creative trying to figure out who you actually are when you stop performing who you thought you had to be. You can find Meg here: Instagram - @printcess meg Substack - https://meganfatharly.substack.com/ In Progress from Meg Fatharly This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    Art, Unmasking and the Identity Crisis Nobody Warned Us About, with Artist Meg Fatharley

  4. Jan 28

    Neurodivergent Couples Work with Emma Spencer IPT

    What if the friction in your relationships isn’t about incompatibility, but about unspoken differences in how you communicate? In this episode, I sit down with Emma Spencer, IPT Psychotherapist and mental health nurse, former NHS colleague and friend - to talk about why understanding someone’s communication style matters more than we think. We explore how neurodivergent people often miss the cues that neurotypical communication relies on. How directness can be mistaken for rudeness. How silence gets misread as disinterest. You’ll hear us discuss: * Why knowing how someone processes information changes everything * The difference between communication breakdowns and actual conflict * How to ask for what you need without second-guessing yourself * Why assuming everyone communicates like you do causes unnecessary hurt This isn’t about learning scripts or masking your natural style. It’s about recognising that your partner, colleague, or friend might need information delivered differently than you do. When you stop expecting people to read between lines you didn’t know you were drawing, relationships get easier. You can read more about Emmas work at: www.connectrelatecommunicate.co.uk Instagram & Facebook at Emma Spencer IPT This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    Neurodivergent Couples Work with Emma Spencer IPT

  5. 12/02/2025

    Writing Through Neurodivergence with Gail Doggett ADHD Writing Coach

    What happens after the dopamine high of selling your book proposal wears off? Alice talks with ADHD book coach Gail Doggett about the lonely, messy middle of writing a book when you’re neurodivergent. They get into the belief gaps that show up when you’re doing something big, why publishing can feel like tumbleweeds and sudden exposure, and how to actually prioritise your writing when your brain has other plans. Gail shares why book doubling works, how to match your capacity to your time, and the case for making things that bring you joy (even when you don’t need two pencil cases). You can find Gail at Whizzy Brain on SubstackTikTok and Instagram: @bookdoublingSet up a call with her: https://calendar.app.google/3MqRBCaVJmJVw7VHA This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    Writing Through Neurodivergence with Gail Doggett ADHD Writing Coach

  6. 11/29/2025

    Asking for help, so much easier than it sounds

    If you’re AuDHD and struggle to ask for help, you might feel that you will never be able to rely on others for help. But - you’re responding exactly how your nervous system learnt to respond. In this episode, I explore why asking for help feels so impossible for many neurodivergent adults - from the energy it takes to explain, to the years of unmet needs, to the conditioning that taught us our worth depends on managing alone. Drawing on both my professional experience and my own journey as a late-discovered AuDHD person, I offer a reframe: asking for help isn’t weakness. It’s nervous system safety. And it’s something we’re all learning to believe is possible. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

  7. 10/29/2025

    Why Boundaries Feel Impossible When You're Neurodivergent

    If you're neurodivergent, setting boundaries probably feels genuinely impossible. Not just hard - actually impossible. In this episode, I break down the real reasons why: How your nervous system responds to boundary-setting as a threatThe conditioning that convinced you your needs don't matterWhy neurotypical boundary advice never worked for youThis isn't about willpower or being "strong enough." It's about understanding what's actually happening in your brain and nervous system. I'm a registered mental health nurse, interpersonal psychotherapist, and therapeutic coach. I'm also ADHD and autistic (diagnosed at 47 and 50), so I get it both professionally and personally. Resources mentioned: Free Relationship Audit: Here Free workshop Sign Up "Why Setting Boundaries Feels Impossible (And 3 Ways to Start)": Here Course "Unmasking the Holidays: Relationships Without Performance": Here This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    Why Boundaries Feel Impossible When You're Neurodivergent

  8. 10/20/2025

    The Push and Pull of AuDHD

    You crave quiet and predictability, but your ADHD brain is racing and restless inside. If you're a late-diagnosed AuDHDer, you know this exhausting push and pull. This episode explores what it's really like to manage two nervous systems that want opposite things, why it leads to burnout, and what actually helps. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    The Push and Pull of AuDHD

  9. 10/17/2025

    When You Don't Trust Yourself Anymore (Or never have)

    Have you ever frozen when someone asks "What do you want?" - not from overwhelm, but because you genuinely don't know? In this first episode, Alice explores self-trust for late-discovered neurodivergent adults. We dive into why decades of masking means many of us never learned to trust ourselves in the first place, how people-pleasing becomes a nervous system survival strategy, and practical steps to start rebuilding that trust. Includes the "small decisions practice" - a gentle way to start reconnecting with your preferences without the pressure of getting it perfect. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    When You Don't Trust Yourself Anymore (Or never have)

  10. 05/06/2025

    When 'Stop Asking for Reassurance' Doesn't Work for Neurodivergent Brains

    I have tried starting this podcast about a gazillion times now, so rather than carrying on overthinking it, here I am showing up, feeling the cringe and doing it anyway! I hope you enjoy it! For more information on me and my RSD course please visit my website! www.alicebramhill.co.uk This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alicebramhill.substack.com/subscribe

    When 'Stop Asking for Reassurance' Doesn't Work for Neurodivergent Brains
  • 10 Episodes

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For creative neurodivergent folk dismantling shame, seeking liberation from the norms & building lives and relationships that work. With a generous sprinkling of joy. By Alice Bramhill - Interpersonal Psychotherapist, Coach, Unschooling Parent & Author. alicebramhill.substack.com

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