Some of us don’t fit the mold. 

When we try to fit, we stick out. And not just a little.

Our thinking is different. Our connection with others is different. Our ways of relating to the world are different.

We are different. 

We have brains that are wired for understanding concepts and making leaps in a fraction of the time others’ can. We see complexity and gray in the situations around us, sometimes longing for a black and white answer, even while we see the nuance and layers of life.

We have a different perspective from others because our ability to zoom in is so detailed, and our ability to zoom out is equally powerful. We may have a profound capacity to perceive motivations, emotions, or situations in ways that others consider uncanny or beyond our natural abilities.

We are passionate about our interests. We are sensitive to changes in the environment. We are thoughtful, intense, and passionate. We usually have a low tolerance for boredom and crave novelty intermixed with cravable comfort.

While we are praised for our accomplishments and given accolades for our success, we also live the shadow of being different. 

We understand, or are coming to understand, the ways in which our experiences and selves are separate from the average person’s. We’ve felt like outliers. We’ve been criticized by well-meaning friends and family for being too much: too sensitive, too dedicated, too idealistic, too fast-paced.

We’ve struggled to find others who are like us, and who can feel and think as deeply as we do on a daily basis. We’ve had professionals put our achievements on a pedestal, while simultaneously pathologizing our processes. We are used to people seeing what we produce and overlooking our pain. We may have suffered from anxiety, existential depression, and a feeling that no one can help us but ourselves…alongside any other ordinary struggles life throws our way.

Who are we, you may ask? 

We are highly intelligent (sometimes called “gifted”) and/or highly sensitive persons (HSP).

And you might be one of us. 

If you know your experience has differed in some meaningful way from the average person’s, you may be among a subset of individuals who fit a gifted and/or highly sensitive profile.

If so, you need a therapy that is tailored to your needs. You need therapy that challenges you and holds you accountable while allowing you to exist outside the framework of normal or not normal. You need someone who understands the challenges faced by people like you, and someone who knows how to help you through it.

If you can relate to feeling this way, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve always felt disconnected from what society considers average or if you’re going through a life transition and need some specialized support.

We can help you. 

While we work with many CEOs, entrepreneurs, scientists, and other traditionally successful people, being highly intelligent is not a straightforward pathway to success—personal or otherwise.

In fact, many people with above average intelligence or sensitivity actually find themselves struggling to complete school, settle into an interesting career, make meaningful connections and find a peaceful connection within themselves. You do not need to have a lengthy list of accomplishments to know you are different.

(Some people worry that they’ll sound prideful or egocentric if they say they’re highly intelligent or sensitive, or that because they aren’t the most exceptional person they know or exceptional in all areas this work doesn’t apply to them. No one is 100% exceptional in all ways, and it’s okay to acknowledge the aspects of yourself that make you unique without judgment.)

We encourage you to reach out – regardless of which labels you do/don’t accept – if you have ever felt two steps ahead of everyone around you or incredibly insightful when it comes to your life or others. Therapy with an awareness of your sensitivities and/or intelligence could be the fit in therapy that makes a difference for you.