Shea Davis, AMFT | Therapist for Neurodivergent Couples, Individuals, and Families

Neurodivergent connection thrives when it’s understood on its own terms. I help individuals and couples uncover what makes their relationships work—not in spite of their differences, but because of them.

My Story Is the Foundation of My Work

A Long-Term Neurodiverse Marriage.

I didn’t come to this work by accident—I lived it long before I trained for it. For 24 years, I was married to a neurodivergent partner in a relationship filled with both deep connection and constant misunderstanding. We loved each other, but our wiring didn’t always match—and that mismatch shaped everything from how we handled conflict to how we expressed love.

I know firsthand what it feels like to be in a relationship where you’re trying your hardest, but somehow still missing each other.

Parenting a Neurodivergent Child

I’m also the mother of two children, now 29 and 22, including a neurodivergent son who struggled deeply in traditional systems.

As a parent, I was often the translator—advocating, soothing, interpreting, and holding space for a child whose brilliance the world couldn’t always see. That experience taught me the importance of co-regulation, flexibility, and finding ways to honor a child’s nervous system, not fight against it.

Recovery from Addiction and Trauma

And I’ve lived through collapse and rebuilding.

Years ago, I walked into a 12-step meeting broken by addiction, emotional pain, and a lifetime of pushing through instead of healing.

Recovery didn’t just help me get sober—it helped me reclaim my voice, learn boundaries, and rebuild relationships based on mutual safety and respect. That process of healing, integrating, and re-emerging is the lens I bring to every therapy session.

Life After Betrayal and Emotional Neglect

I’ve navigated betrayal, financial infidelity, and the quiet ache of emotional neglect.

I’ve also felt the hope of starting over—as a single mother, as a woman in long-term recovery, and as a partner learning to love again after rupture.

My blended family has been one of my greatest teachers. I understand the complications of co-parenting, the grief of unmet expectations, and the beauty that can emerge when people commit to doing things differently, even when it's hard.

Working with Neurodiverse Couples

Much of my clinical focus is shaped by my own long-term relationship with a neurodivergent partner. I’ve lived through the beautiful highs and painful disconnects that can come when two people with different processing styles, emotional languages, and nervous systems try to build a life together.

In that relationship, we often found ourselves stuck in patterns we didn’t understand. I’d long for emotional attunement while he sought logical solutions. I’d press for closeness during conflict; he’d retreat to manage overwhelm. Over time, we developed workarounds, built shared language, and grew in our awareness—but not without struggle. Those experiences inform the way I work with couples today.

Neurodiverse relationships often look confusing from the outside—and feel lonely on the inside. One partner might seek verbal connection, while the other prefers action. One might shut down under stress, while the other presses in, desperate for clarity.

These dynamics aren’t about a lack of love—they’re about different operating systems. In our work together, I help you:

• Understand the neurology beneath the behavior

• Slow down reactive cycles and shift from blame to curiosity

• Rebuild emotional safety after chronic misattunement or betrayal

• Learn new ways to communicate that actually land with your partner

• Navigate sensory, pacing, and executive functioning differences

• Reimagine intimacy and connection on your terms—not the world’s
  

I integrate Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), polyvagal theory, trauma-informed care, and structured communication tools from the Gottman Method. My goal is to help you feel seen, safe, and better equipped to relate—even when things are hard.

Parenting Through a Neurodivergent Lens

When I was raising my son—especially during his most difficult years—I often felt like I was operating without a roadmap.

The strategies other parents used didn’t work for us. He needed something different: less pressure, more regulation support, and a deep commitment to understanding his nervous system. I had to learn how to show up in ways that were both nurturing and flexible, even when I felt depleted myself.

As a therapist, I bring this lived experience into the room. I understand how isolating it can feel to be the one holding everything together—to be the parent who understands what the school system doesn’t, who translates your child’s needs to extended family, and who navigates the tension between advocacy and acceptance.

I support parents who are:

• Co-regulating with differently wired kids while staying regulated themselves

• Navigating shutdowns, sensory overload, and burnout—on both sides

• Co-parenting after divorce or in blended family systems

• Wrestling with grief over unmet expectations

• Trying to break harmful patterns while creating new family rhythms
  

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be open to learning—and I’ll walk beside you as you do.

Support for Blended Families

When my marriage ended and I stepped into the world of co-parenting and step-parenting, I quickly realized that blending a family isn’t about forcing connection—it’s about creating space for each person’s story. Add neurodivergence to the mix, and the need for flexibility, empathy, and honest communication only grows.

In my own blended family, we had to re-learn how to listen to each other. We had to acknowledge sensory needs, adjust expectations around emotional expression, and recognize that some members of the family processed grief or change much more slowly—or more intensely—than others. There was no one-size-fits-all approach.

As someone who has built and lived in a blended family with neurodivergent members, I support:

• Step-parenting roles and boundaries that evolve over time

• Navigating loyalty binds and emotional shifts with compassion and clarity

• Repairing ruptures in co-parenting or ex-spouse dynamics

• Helping new partners understand neurodivergent kids and their unique wiring

• Developing shared rituals and rhythms that work for your family’s actual neurobiology
  

Blended doesn’t mean broken. Neurodivergence doesn’t mean incompatible. Together, we can create something flexible, respectful, and uniquely yours.

Working with Addiction and Neurodivergence

My recovery journey began with hitting rock bottom—and then learning to rebuild a life from the inside out.

For me, addiction wasn’t just about substances. It was about managing overwhelm, avoiding emotional pain, and trying to cope in a world that often felt too intense.

As I later came to understand more about neurodivergence, it became clear how intertwined the two could be. Many neurodivergent individuals develop addictive behaviors as a way to soothe sensory overload, mask social confusion, or cope with chronic rejection. And unfortunately, many recovery spaces aren’t built to hold that complexity.

In my work with clients at this intersection, I help you:

• Identify the neurodivergent roots of addictive behaviors

• Explore sensory-friendly and emotionally attuned recovery strategies

• Navigate recovery spaces that may feel rigid, triggering, or misaligned

• Manage co-occurring challenges like executive dysfunction or trauma

• Build sustainable recovery that makes space for your full self
  

You don’t need to choose between being seen as someone in recovery or someone who’s neurodivergent. I’ll help you hold both—without shame.

Who I Work With

• Neurodivergent adults (diagnosed or self-identified)

• Neurodiverse couples (ND/NT or ND/ND)

• Partners of autistic or ADHD individuals

• Parents of neurodivergent children

• Adults in recovery from addiction, betrayal trauma, or relational chaos

• Individuals navigating blended family dynamics and second-chapter relationships

What I Bring

I bring the lived experience of neurodivergence, depression, anxiety, and addiction.

I bring decades of parenting through challenge, the insight of a long-term neurodiverse marriage, and the resilience of someone who’s rebuilt from the ground up. My therapy room is a space where you don’t have to perform, explain, or justify how your brain works. You get to be fully yourself—and that’s where real change begins.

License & Employment Information

• Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, #154799

• Supervised by Dr. Harry Motro, LMFT #53452

• Employed by New Path Family of Therapy Centers