Neurodivergent Career & Life Coach

I help neurodivergent and highly sensitive people navigate everyday challenges, build sustainable routines, reach long-term goals, and strengthen relationships through empathetic listening and strategic support.

Journey of Unmasking

For many who are neurodivergent, typical approaches to work and life can feel misaligned, leading to the habit of masking — pretending we’re on top of things or meeting expectations when, in reality, we are not. This constant effort can drain us, leaving us unseen, depleted, and disconnected.

Through one-time problem-solving sessions or ongoing support, we’ll work together to explore what unmasking means for you. Together, we’ll identify steps to align how your mind works with external expectations and your personal goals. This isn’t just about understanding yourself better — it’s about getting things done. Whether it’s tackling a specific challenge, prioritizing tasks, building a plan, or organizing your daily actions to support long-term aspirations, we’ll use practical tools, like structured planning and reflective techniques, to help you build a life that works for you.

This journey is about embracing the way your mind works while making meaningful progress toward your goals. Together, we’ll create a space where you can reflect, take action, and build a balanced, fulfilling path forward. It’s not about removing the mask all at once — it’s about choosing authenticity in ways that sustain and energize you.

Services

One-Off Empathetic Listening & Strategic Problem Solving Sessions

In these focused, single sessions, I help you tackle a specific issue, whether it’s a conflict with a colleague, planning your week, prioritizing tasks, or discussing capacity. For those in academia, we can think through research designs, explore graduate school options, or address other academic challenges. Offering guidance and brainstorming approaches for interacting with coworkers, supervisors, and subordinates in ways that honor your needs and strengths.

Rate: $60- 30 minute sessions, $120 -60 minute sessions

Ongoing Support

Relationship Deepening

When it comes to building stronger relationships with neurodivergent loved ones, I offer a space to reflect, learn, and connect. Drawing from my personal experiences as a queer, spiritual, bipolar, ADHD woman, I’ll help you gain deeper insight into the unique dynamics at play. You will explore ways to better understand and support those you care about, while fostering compassion and communication. The work we do here will help you approach these relationships with confidence and empathy.

Rate: $60 for 30 minutes, $120 for 60 minutes

About

Julia's Journey of Unmasking

My journey of unmasking has been anything but straightforward. As an engineering professor holding a PhD in Engineering Education from Purdue University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley, I spent years navigating the rigorous demands of academia, masking parts of myself to fit into environments that felt misaligned with who I was. The turning point came while supporting a close friend, Mel, who had just secured a lecturer position at the same university where I was teaching. Mel, who was trans, deaf, autistic, had ADHD, and used a wheelchair, had to fight tirelessly for basic accommodations like interpretation services and accessible classroom layouts. Witnessing their resilience and openness planted a seed of recognition within me.

It was during the first year back in the classroom after COVID that I found myself in crisis. The stress was overwhelming, and I experienced a mixed episode, characterized by severe depression, insomnia, relentless anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. It was a familiar but devastating state, one I had endured silently for years. Mel, who couldn’t help but be visibly and unapologetically disabled, became a source of inspiration. Watching them exist so openly with their struggles felt like witnessing a new kind of freedom, a path I had never considered possible.

Owning that I was neurodiverse felt like a “coming out” experience, one even more liberating for me than coming out as queer. Understanding my neurodiversity changed everything. At first, it was incredibly empowering: at 39, I sought and received diagnoses of bipolar disorder and ADHD on my own terms. The act of seeking these diagnoses felt like reclaiming my narrative and making peace with parts of myself I had long hidden.

Yet this newfound awareness came with complexity. Recognizing how my nervous system went into crisis under stress — the rapid cycling, mood fluctuations, and exhaustion from masking — made it harder to ignore the toll academia was taking on me. I faced internal and external biases and had no idea what kind of accommodations, if any, could support me effectively. It was a confusing, often isolating experience. I made adjustments, first reducing my workload to 75%, and eventually, I went on disability to give myself the space I needed to heal and redefine what a sustainable, authentic life could look like.

Today, I’m grounded in a deeper understanding of my needs and the importance of honoring my neurodiversity. This journey has taught me the value of creating spaces that align with my nervous system, and it’s why I’m so passionate about supporting others on their own paths to unmasking and thriving. I now use my experiences to empower others, guiding them to embrace their full selves and build lives that are not only sustainable but also deeply fulfilling.

Our Testimonials

What They Say

Julia has a unique gift for holding space and listening deeply. Our session helped me process personal barriers and prepare for a major academic meeting. Her guidance was instrumental in helping me feel grounded and confident. I’m grateful for the kindness and care she brings to every session.

Jill Santa Cruz, CA

Working with Julia has helped me solidify how I want to feel emotionally about my work as well as the specific steps I can take (often during sessions!) to get there. She brings a holistic, compassionate, and pragmatic approach! She meets me where I am, whether I need to think about the bigger picture, or need some more concrete support for the day. She’s able to connect thoughts and feelings that I often think of as disparate to my broader story, whether about how I see my fellow neurodiverse friends thinking about their work, or systems I am setting up for myself for support.

Sondy Boulder, CO

Julia has been such an effective coach for me. She creates a judgment-free space in her sessions and listens empathetically to what’s really going on. Her ability to ask thought-provoking questions has challenged me to think in new ways about what I want to accomplish and how to get there. With Julia’s guidance, I’ve learned how to turn intentions into practical goals and create clear, actionable steps to make progress. Each session leaves me feeling more focused and confident about my next steps.

Karen S. Atlanta, GA

Julia Thompson, PhD