Here’s the thing about Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): I don’t buy it. Diagnostically, I’ve yet to see a single case where ODD isn’t better understood as a response to trauma, unmet emotional needs, or unrecognized neurodivergence (think ADHD, autism, sensory processing differences, or even giftedness).

On paper, ODD describes kids who are angry, argumentative, defiant, and refuse to comply with authority. But if you take off the clinical goggles and look at the bigger picture, those behaviors make perfect sense when you consider:

• A child who feels unseen, unheard, and powerless.

• A kid living through chaotic, unsafe, or invalidating environments.

• A neurodivergent mind that’s overwhelmed, overstimulated, or constantly misinterpreted.

When kids don’t feel safe—emotionally, mentally, or physically—what do they do? They fight back. They resist. They push against systems that are failing them. That’s not a “disorder.” That’s survival.

If you were labeled “difficult,” “lazy,” or “defiant,” there’s a strong chance what you were actually dealing with was unrecognized neurodivergence. ADHD, autism, sensory processing differences, giftedness—these ways of being are misunderstood and often punished in environments that demand compliance over understanding.

• ADHD may have meant you struggled with focus, impulsivity, or following directions. But adults saw it as “you don’t listen” or “you don’t try hard enough.”

• Autism might have made arbitrary rules confusing, social expectations overwhelming, and sensory input unbearable. Instead of helping you navigate, they called you “rude” or “defiant.”

• Emotional regulation challenges might have been your brain saying, “This is too much for me,” while adults punished you for “overreacting.”

Here’s the truth: neurodivergent brains aren’t “wrong”—they’re different. And you didn’t deserve to be shamed or punished for being yourself. You needed support, tools, and environments that honored how your brain works.

If you’ve internalized the belief that something was wrong with you, let me say it clearly: there was nothing wrong with you. The world just didn’t know how to meet you where you were.

Let’s call this what it is: many troubled teen programs equated obedience with “progress.” If you were quiet, compliant, or gave the adults what they wanted, they said you were “better.” But here’s the kicker: compliance isn’t the same as healing.

When you were punished, isolated, or broken down, you may have learned how to “play the game” just to survive. Maybe you shut down your emotions. Maybe you said what they wanted to hear. Maybe you stopped fighting because it was too exhausting. That doesn’t mean you were fixed—it means you were surviving.

• If you “got through it” by staying silent, you were smart.

• If you fought back, you were brave.

• If you learned to tell adults what they wanted to hear just to make it stop, you were resourceful.

Survival is not compliance. And healing isn’t about being obedient—it’s about feeling safe enough to be fully yourself again.

Let’s talk about anger, because it’s a feeling that often gets a bad rap. If you’re angry about what happened to you, good—you should be. Anger is one of the most honest, protective responses to injustice, invalidation, and harm.

Maybe you’re angry because:

• They didn’t believe you when you told them something was wrong.

• You were punished for struggling instead of supported.

• Your voice was taken away, and no one listened.

Anger doesn’t mean you’re damaged. It means you care. It means you know, deep down, that you deserved better. Your anger is a signal that something wasn’t okay—and it’s a part of the healing process.

Here’s the best part: anger isn’t where this story ends. Once we give your anger the space it deserves—once we let it be heard and validated—it can start to shift. It doesn’t have to control you forever. It can become the fuel that helps you reclaim your voice, your boundaries, and your life.

No matter what anyone told you—“This is for your own good,” “You brought this on yourself,”—what happened to you wasn’t your fault. You didn’t deserve to be shipped off, punished, or labeled as broken for struggling. You were a kid trying to cope with a world that didn’t feel safe. That doesn’t make you bad; it makes you human.

When you were sent away, the people who should have protected you didn’t know how. That failure is on them—not on you. It wasn’t your job to be “easier” to love, or to handle struggles that most adults couldn’t even begin to understand.

You deserved care, safety, and compassion back then. And you deserve those things now.

The troubled teen industry tried to make you believe that you were the problem. They were wrong. You’re not a problem to be fixed—you’re a person to be understood.

If you’re ready to unpack what happened, make sense of it, and reclaim the parts of yourself that were taken away, I’m here to help. This work isn’t about judgment or shame. It’s about:

• Giving your experiences the validation they deserve.

• Reconnecting to your voice, your boundaries, and your truth.

• Healing in a way that feels safe, gentle, and uniquely yours.

First Session & Follow-Up Appointments: $300 (approx. 50 minutes)
In our first session, we’ll explore what brought you here, talk about your experiences, and start creating a space where you feel safe and understood. Follow-up sessions allow us to dive deeper into your healing at a pace that works for you.

30-Minute Check-Ins: $150
If therapeutically appropriate, shorter 30-minute sessions are available for when you need focused support, grounding, or clarity between full sessions.

This isn’t about fixing you—because you’re not broken. It’s about helping you feel heard, validated, and equipped to move forward on your terms.