Episode 56: Neurodivergence, Labels, and the Cost of Oversimplified Psychology

Guest Elizabeth Morrison is a licensed therapist, MS, LPC, in Texas, that specializes in treating Neurodivergent individuals.

We talk through what’s happening as mental health language goes mainstream: it’s helping more people seek support, but it’s also creating confusion, oversimplification, and “pop psychology” that gets repeated as fact. We unpack what neurodivergence and neurodivergent actually mean, why traits aren’t the same thing as diagnoses, and how real clinical work depends on nuance, context, and felt safety. The conversation also zooms out to schools and families, exploring how kids’ behavior often reflects unmet needs, overstimulation, and a lack of support rather than “badness.”

• Why social media spreads both awareness and misinformation about mental health
• Neurodivergence vs. neurodivergent vs. neuroinclusive (and why the labels matter)
• Bottom-up vs. top-down processing and how that changes therapy approaches
• Common neurodivergent presentations discussed: autism, ADHD, OCD (and the broader spectrum)
• Stimming and fidgets as regulation tools, not “bad habits”
• Burnout, dopamine/energy drain, and why everyday tasks can cost more for ND brains
• The difference between having traits and meeting diagnostic criteria (clinical significance)
• Limits of assessments: masking, self-awareness gaps, and the nuance tests can miss
• Medication basics: what it should and shouldn’t do, and when to revisit dosage/prescriptions
• School systems, missed support, and why behavior is often communication
• Practical parenting ideas: reducing demands after school and asking better questions
• How family patterns repeat across generations and how therapy helps revise the “old contract”