The Cognitive Collective

10/10/2026

Lived experience isn't an anecdote. It's expertise.
This year's World Mental Health Day theme is Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.
And we really like it.

People with lived experience are often asked to tell their stories. They're invited onto panels, asked for feedback, given surveys and quoted in reports. But being listened to isn't quite the same thing as having influence.

According to WHO's Mental Health Atlas 2024, only 45% of responding countries reported ongoing collaboration with people with lived experience and family or caregiver advocacy groups in the planning, delivery or monitoring of mental-health services.

Good mental healthcare needs different kinds of knowledge.

We need research evidence.
We need clinical expertise.
And we need lived experience.

Not because one replaces another, but because each brings knowledge the others cannot provide alone.

As clinicians, we can bring training, evidence and experience into the therapy room. But the person sitting opposite us brings expertise we can never have: what it is actually like to be them. Good therapy happens when we work with both.

And the same should be true when we're building services.

People shouldn't only be asked what they think once the service has already been designed. Lived experience should have meaningful influence over the systems, services and decisions that affect the people using them.

So perhaps the question isn't simply: “Did we listen?”
It's: “What changed because we did?”

Mental healthcare shouldn't just be designed for the people who use it.

It should be shaped with them.

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05/10/2026

We talk a lot about supporting dyslexic children. But dyslexic children grow into dyslexic adults.

This year's Dyslexia Awareness Week focuses on dyslexia in real life, particularly in the workplace.

Dyslexia can affect far more than spelling, and its impact doesn't disappear when someone leaves education. For some people, the workplace simply introduces a new set of demands: emails, reports, forms, written instructions, meetings, deadlines, information-heavy systems and an awful lot of things you're apparently supposed to remember after hearing them once.

And sometimes, when someone appears to be managing all of that perfectly well, what you're actually seeing is years of compensation, systems and additional effort.

Good support doesn't mean lowering expectations. It means removing unnecessary barriers so that someone's ability isn't being measured by how easily they can navigate a system that wasn't designed with them in mind.

People can be brilliant at their job and need adjustments. They can need more time to process something and understand it completely.
Support isn't something we should graduate from.
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03/10/2026

🎈 Apparently it's my birthday, so it seems only fair that today's is me.

Hi, I'm Amanda 👋
I'm TCC's Clinical Manager, ASC Assessor, Integrative CBT therapist... and professional owner of far too many notebooks.

I work across neurodivergence and mental health, with particular interests in the wonderfully complicated places where mental health and neurodivergence overlap.

I'm also ADHD.

That isn't what qualifies me to work with neurodivergent people - my clinical training, experience and ongoing learning matter enormously - but lived experience does influence the kind of therapist, assessor and Clinical Manager I am.

I know what it's like when a perfectly sensible strategy simply does not work with your brain. I know the difference a small adjustment can make. And I know that evidence-based therapy doesn't have to mean sitting upright in a sterile room while somebody with a clipboard asks, “And how does that make you feel?”

Outside the therapy room, I'm usually reading, writing, going to gigs, disappearing down a Greek mythology rabbit hole, or acquiring another notebook despite having several perfectly good notebooks at home.

And, regrettably predictably, there will probably be coffee.

So, hi. I'm Amanda. 💛
One half of the friendship that accidentally became The Cognitive Collective.
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01/10/2026

ADHD isn't a naughty little boy disorder. And yet, somehow, we are still having this conversation.

Recent media coverage has once again brought out a very familiar picture of ADHD: disruptive behaviour, children who won't sit still, problems in the classroom and the suggestion that perhaps we're simply diagnosing ordinary “naughtiness”.

It's an outdated way of thinking about a complex neurodevelopmental condition.

The problem isn't the child who is visibly hyperactive, impulsive or disruptive. (That child may absolutely have ADHD, and deserves appropriate understanding and support). The problem comes when we make that child the template against which everybody else's ADHD is measured.

Because ADHD isn't always loud.

Sometimes it's daydreaming. Internal restlessness. Chronic procrastination. Losing everything. Executive functioning difficulties. Overcompensating. Elaborate systems. Perfectionism. Anxiety. Masking. Or spending an extraordinary amount of energy trying to appear as though you're coping just fine.

And our diagnostic history matters here.

The research, diagnostic frameworks, referral pathways and tools we've used to understand ADHD have not always captured its full range of presentations equally well. We now have growing evidence that some people - particularly girls and women - have been less likely to be recognised in childhood and may receive their diagnosis later.

That doesn't mean every quiet, anxious or disorganised person has ADHD.

It means we need to stop asking whether somebody looks like our stereotype of ADHD and start looking properly at the individual in front of us.

Because it's 2026.

We can retire the naughty-little-boy stereotype now.
He was never the problem.
Making him the definition was.

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30/09/2026

Things you’re absolutely allowed to do in our therapy rooms. Get weird, we’re invested. 😎
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16/09/2026

Cheltenham vibes. 🌿☕

Leafy streets, good coffee and our lovely Cotswold-inspired home just off the High Street.

Our Cheltenham clinic is based on Rodney Road, right in the centre of town - but tucked away enough to feel a little quieter once you’re inside.

The rooms are warm, comfortable and deliberately not very clinical. Think soft furnishings, natural light, dimmable lighting and plenty of space to settle in before we ask you to talk about anything remotely difficult.

Cheltenham is our main clinical home, so you’ll find all TCC services here, including autism screening and assessment, CBT, integrative therapy and counselling for children, young people and adults.

And when you’re finished? You’re moments from the High Street, parks, shops and (rather importantly) plenty of places for coffee. ☕

Welcome to TCC Cheltenham. 💛

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10/09/2026

We need to be able to say the word su***de.

Talking openly and directly about su***de does not put the idea into someone’s head. Asking someone if they are thinking about su***de or if they have a plan does not cause suicidal thoughts.

But our discomfort with the word can make it much harder for someone to tell us when they are struggling.

They might joke about it, minimise it, say it awkwardly or say they’re tired of being here. They may tell you they don’t want to die, but they don’t know how to keep living like this.

If somebody tells you they’re thinking about su***de, you don’t need to immediately have the perfect response. Listen, take them seriously, ask directly what they mean. Try not to panic. Stay with the conversation, and help them find appropriate support.

As mental health professionals, we know all too well that NHS waitlists are too long and there is a devastating lack of accessible mental health support for those who can’t afford to go private. But whilst we can’t change that overnight, we can change how we respond to the people around us.

This World Su***de Prevention Day, perhaps changing the narrative starts with being willing to have the conversation with someone we love.

We need to be able to say the word su***de.
And we need to be prepared to listen when somebody else does.

If you or someone you know needs urgent support in the UK:

Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24/7)
Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 (free, 24/7)
NHS 111: call 111 and select the mental health option
Immediate danger: call 999 or attend A&E

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***dePreventionDay ***dePrevention

09/09/2026

“I think I might be autistic… what does a full assessment actually involve?”

A comprehensive autism assessment is about much more than completing a questionnaire or attending one appointment.
Our diagnostic assessments bring together several sources of information to build a fuller understanding of the individual - including developmental history, clinical assessment and structured autism assessment tools such as the ADOS-2 and ADI-R.

We look at the whole picture: communication, sensory experiences, routines, relationships, masking, development, strengths, difficulties and how these experiences affect everyday life.

We offer both psychology-led and psychiatry-led assessment pathways, depending on age and clinical need. But you do not need to work out which pathway is right before contacting us. We’ll guide you through the process and recommend the most appropriate route.

Our ADOS-2 assessments are completed face-to-face at our London or Cheltenham clinics. Once the assessment is complete, all of the information gathered is considered together before a diagnostic decision is made. You’ll then have a feedback call to discuss the results and receive a comprehensive report in line with NICE guidelines within four weeks.

🧠 Psychology-led autism assessment £1,999
🩺 Psychiatry-led autism assessment £2,390
📋 Comprehensive diagnostic assessment
👥 ADOS-2 & ADI-R
📄 Full diagnostic report in line with NICE guidelines
🏫 Suitable for sharing with schools / GPs
📍 In-person ADOS-2 in London or Cheltenham
👤 Children aged 5+, young people & adults

Book online or find out more via our website.
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Private autism assessments for children and adults in London and Cheltenham, including in-person ADOS-2. Plus neurodiversity-affirming therapy.

08/09/2026

“I think I might be autistic… but I don't know what I'm supposed to do next.”

Our autism screening appointments give you space to explore what you've noticed, look at your experiences alongside a trained clinician, and understand whether a full autism assessment - or perhaps a different pathway - would be the most appropriate next step.

Before your appointment, we'll send you questionnaires to complete so we can begin building a picture of your experiences. You'll then have a one-hour clinical appointment where we'll explore what has made you wonder about autism, including things like communication, sensory experiences, routines, relationships, masking, interests and how you experience everyday life.

But importantly, we're not only looking for autism.

There can be overlap between autistic experiences and things like ADHD, anxiety and other mental health or neurodevelopmental differences. Our screening considers these too, because the aim isn't to make everything fit autism - it's to understand what might actually be going on.

Screening isn't a diagnosis, and there's no pass or fail.

Afterwards, you'll receive a written report explaining what we've found and what we'd recommend next. If a full autism assessment looks appropriate, we'll explain the pathway we'd recommend. If something else might be more helpful, we'll talk about that instead.

🔎 Autism screening £150
🕐 One-hour clinical appointment
📋 Pre-appointment questionnaires
🧠 Additional ADHD & mental health screening
📄 Full written report and recommendations
👥 Children aged 5+, young people & adults

Book online via our website.

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Book autism screening, private autism assessment or neurodiversity-affirming therapy with The Cognitive Collective in London, Cheltenham or online.