Dialogica

03/06/2026

We talk about “overthinking” as if the problem is just having too many thoughts. But we don’t have multiple thoughts at the same time. So what is overthinking? The real problem is becoming trapped in self-reference. Attention folding back in on itself. Experience being filtered through commentary, interpretation, judgement and analysis.

Modern culture increasingly rewards the mastery of a curated internal simulation over authentic, unedited reality. By incentivising engagement with algorithms, curated digital personas, and quantified metrics, society quietly pushes us to optimise for how things appear rather than what they truly mean.

This is without considering the increasingly prevalent sensory overwhelm or social shutdown.

Hyper-reflection gets mistaken for wisdom. Chronic vigilance gets framed as insight. Endless psychological analysis of self and others becomes a kind of identity. There is a point where the mind turns predatory and starts feeding on experience instead of participating in it.

That is the part we rarely talk about.

However, the studies are emerging, and it’s not pretty.

Continued at:

https://jonnydrury.substack.com/p/i-dont-need-more-insight

Photo © J Drury 2026

01/06/2026

Many neurodivergent leaders, especially those working in their own personal field (like me), are seeking support because something’s not working any more. They’re exhausted, or burning out, sometimes unknowingly.

Neurodiversity culture is shifting fast. The strategies that once helped leaders succeed are becoming harder to sustain - demands amplify pressures, resulting in greater responsibility, greater complexity, and higher expectations. Decisions carry greater consequences, and usually we have more relationships to navigate, sometimes with dangerous hemorrhaging into personal life, and vice versa. Sound familiar?

Continued here:

What Organisations are Missing

31/05/2026

Are you a therapist? Check out our founder's video about ADA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tfnqf0Q_Ys
Learn about the new on-demand course here.
https://www.udemy.com/course/autism-neurodiversity-therapists-dialogue-training/?couponCode=LAUNCH-ADA

Practical Autism & Neurodiversity Training for Therapists, Coaches & Healthcare Professionals.🎓 Enrol now with a special introductory discount:https://www.u...

29/05/2026

We're delighted by the response to the Autism Dialogue Approach Foundations Course since its launch earlier this month.

So far:
⭐ 43 professionals have enrolled
⭐ 20 reviews received
⭐ Average rating: 4.8/5
⭐ Awarded Hot & New status by Udemy

Thank you to everyone who has joined the course, shared it with colleagues or helped spread the word.

The course is designed for therapists, counsellors, coaches, healthcare professionals, educators and others who want to develop a more relational, neurodiversity-affirming approach to autism.

The launch offer finishes in just a few days.

Find out more here:
https://www.udemy.com/course/autism-neurodiversity-therapists-dialogue-training/?couponCode=LAUNCH-ADA

29/05/2026

Very pleased to have just been featured on the Counselling Tutor podcast with Rory Lees-Oakes about my new Routledge book on The Autism Dialogue Approach
https://counsellingtutor.com/ai-and-the-therapeutic-relationship/
Listen to the interview - from 33:13.

AI and the Therapeutic Relationship - The Autism Dialogue Approach - Managing Anxiety About Counselling Training

20/05/2026

Professional communication can sometimes become highly performative, particularly in therapeutic and healthcare spaces. People often feel pressure to appear regulated, socially smooth, emotionally appropriate, clear and confident.Even when internally they may be overwhelmed, uncertain or exhausted.

Many autistic people become acutely aware of this tension very early in life. The pressure is not only to communicate, but also to do so in ways that make others feel comfortable.

19/05/2026

Our modern communication culture increasingly rewards speed over depth.
Answers. Responses. Certainty. Even emotion. All delivered too fast. Requiring more speed than what's natural.

Depth requires more space and time. When we slow things down and create more space, what shows is that autistic people communicate more clearly - once the pressure to respond immediately is reduced.

This isn't because they suddenly become “better communicators”, but because thinking itself becomes easier. Especially when there's less interruption, less social performance and less pressure to organise thoughts at neurotypical speed.

Sometimes the pause is where the real conversation actually begins.

If you want to help, slow the pace, make some space.

It's not that hard, is it?

19/05/2026

On social exhaustion, autism and ...therapy.

- Many autistic people become highly skilled at monitoring themselves in conversation, but not necessarily because they want to.

- Many environments reward coherence, speed, eye contact, social timing, emotional calibration and appearing comfortable.

People tell me that after years of this, communication becomes more like self-management. And they're unable to put it down, with constant internalised ableism.

How many autistic people are carrying around chronic social exhaustion that barely even registers anymore because it's become normal for them? Not just at work or in social life, but in professional environments - like therapy.

15/05/2026

Think about a good conversation you had recently. What actually helps you feel safe enough to communicate honestly, without performance, role or strategy?

For most, it's rarely just “good communication skills”. More often, it involves less judgment, slower pacing, actual listening, sensory ease and mutual respect. This goes with less interruption, less pressure to appear coherent and less fear of being corrected or misunderstood.

In my view, many autistic people spend huge amounts of energy trying to keep psychologically safe when communicating in incompatible environments.

Sadly, many helping professionals are never trained to notice this dynamic.

Curious what you think:
What conditions genuinely help you and your clients communicate more openly and authentically?

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