Amanda Hudson

Amanda is an experienced integrative therapist and Clinical Manager at The Cognitive Collective, with over 10 years of experience working across therapy and mental health services. She specialises in working with neurodivergent adults and young people, particularly those who are autistic or ADHD, and is passionate about providing therapy that feels genuinely accessible, collaborative and individual.

Amanda’s core therapeutic approach is Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), alongside training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma-informed approaches and relational neuroscience. Rather than expecting clients to fit neatly within one model of therapy, she draws from different approaches to create therapy around the person in front of her.

Her style is warm, relaxed and down-to-earth. Amanda believes that clients are the experts in their own lives and that therapy works best when it is something created together. Sessions can be structured and practical when that is helpful, or provide more space for exploration and reflection when that is what someone needs. There is no expectation to communicate, sit, make eye contact or engage with therapy in a particular way.

Amanda has particular experience supporting people with ADHD, autism, anxiety, trauma, low self-esteem, emotional regulation, relationships and identity. She is interested not only in reducing distress, but in helping people understand themselves more deeply - including recognising patterns, developing self-compassion and finding ways of living that work with, rather than against, their individual needs.

Her passion for neurodiversity is both professional and personal. As an ADHD therapist herself, Amanda understands some of the realities of navigating environments and expectations that are not always designed for neurodivergent minds. This lived experience sits alongside her clinical training and helps inform her commitment to neurodiversity-affirming practice, while recognising that every person's experience of neurodivergence is different.

Throughout her career, Amanda has worked across a variety of mental health settings and has held senior clinical and leadership roles alongside her therapeutic work. Her wider specialist training includes Compassion Focused Therapy, Polyvagal Theory, relational neuroscience, trauma-focused approaches and Makaton, and she is also a trained ADOS-2 assessor.

As Clinical Manager and Co-Founder of The Cognitive Collective, Amanda is also one of the first people many clients and families meet when they contact the service. She coordinates client care, supports people in understanding which service may be right for them and helps guide them through those first steps.

For Amanda, accessibility is about much more than offering adjustments when somebody asks for them. It means creating services around the understanding that people think, communicate, process and experience the world differently - and that nobody should have to change who they are in order to access exceptional support.