Can you be diagnosed with both ADHD and autism?

Yes. Since the DSM-5 was published in 2013, clinicians have been able to diagnose ADHD and autism in the same person. Before this, guidelines prevented a dual diagnosis, so many older assessments may not reflect the full picture.

AuDHD is a commonly used term for the co-occurrence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism in the same individual. It's not a formal clinical diagnosis in itself, but a way of describing this specific combination of neurodivergent traits.

Is AuDHD more common than people realise?

Yes. Research suggests that between 50 and 70 per cent of autistic people also meet the criteria for ADHD, making co-occurrence far more common than the historical 'one or the other' model suggested.

Do I need a formal diagnosis to get support?

Not necessarily. Many neurodiversity-affirming therapists, including our team, can work with you based on your experiences and goals even before or without a completed diagnostic assessment.

EMDR Therapy in Swan Hill: What to Expect in Your First Session

26 July

Written By George Mudford

If you've been carrying the weight of a difficult experience for longer than you'd like, and talk therapy alone hasn't quite shifted it, you may have come across EMDR. It's one of the most researched trauma therapies in the world, and increasingly, one of the most requested, but the acronym alone doesn't tell you much about what actually happens in the room.

Here's a plain-English guide to EMDR: what it is, why it's recommended so strongly for trauma and PTSD, and what your first session with us in Swan Hill or via telehealth will actually look like.

What Is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It's a structured form of therapy built on the idea that traumatic memories can get "stuck" in the nervous system, unprocessed, so that they keep triggering the same physical and emotional reactions long after the danger has passed.

Rather than asking you to talk through every detail of what happened (the way some traditional talk therapies do), EMDR uses guided bilateral stimulation, typically side-to-side eye movements, alternating taps, or sounds, while you briefly focus on a difficult memory. This bilateral input appears to help the brain do what it does naturally during REM sleep: file the memory away as something that happened in the past, rather than something still happening now.

The result, for many people, is that the memory stops carrying the same emotional charge. You still remember what happened. It just doesn't hijack your body and mind the way it used to.

Why EMDR Is So Widely Recommended

EMDR isn't a fringe or experimental approach. It's recognised by the World Health Organization as an effective treatment for trauma, and in Australia, the Phoenix Australia guidelines for PTSD (endorsed by the NHMRC) give it a strong recommendation for adults.

What tends to set EMDR apart is that it often works without requiring you to describe the traumatic event in exhaustive detail, session after session. For people who find repeated verbal recounting overwhelming, retraumatising, or simply exhausting, that difference matters.

EMDR is used to support people experiencing:

PTSD and complex trauma
Single-incident trauma (accidents, assaults, medical trauma)
Childhood trauma and attachment wounds
Anxiety and panic that's rooted in past experience
Grief that feels "stuck"
Low self-worth connected to earlier life events

What Happens in Your First EMDR Session

EMDR is a staged process, and no reputable therapist will start bilateral stimulation in your very first appointment. The early sessions are about safety and preparation, not diving straight into difficult material. Broadly, you can expect:

History and preparation. Your therapist will spend time understanding your story, current symptoms, and what you'd like support with. This isn't a rushed intake form, it's the foundation that the rest of the sessions are built on.

Building resourcing and coping skills. Before any processing begins, you'll work together on grounding and self-regulation techniques, and often a "safe place" visualisation you can return to at any point. You remain in control throughout.

Identifying targets. Once you feel ready, you and your therapist identify specific memories or beliefs to work through, always at a pace that feels manageable to you, never forced.

Processing. Using eye movements, taps, or auditory tones, you briefly bring the memory to mind while your therapist guides you through sets of bilateral stimulation, checking in regularly along the way.

Closure and integration. Every session ends with grounding, regardless of where you land in the process, so you leave feeling settled rather than raw.

EMDR Through a Neuro-Affirming Lens

One thing that's often missing from EMDR resources is how the approach needs to be adapted for neurodivergent clients. For autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD adults, trauma frequently overlaps with years of masking, misdiagnosis, sensory overwhelm, or simply not being believed,. Standard EMDR protocols, delivered without that context, can miss the mark.

At Mind Over Matters, EMDR is delivered through a trauma-informed, neuro-affirming lens meaning sensory preferences, communication style, and processing speed are built into the approach from the start.

EMDR via Telehealth

EMDR can be delivered effectively online, using digital bilateral stimulation tools that guide eye movements or alternating tones through your screen. For clients across regional Victoria: Kerang, Cohuna, Robinvale, Echuca, and beyond, this means access to specialist trauma therapy without the drive to a major centre. Research on telehealth-delivered EMDR shows outcomes broadly comparable to in-person sessions, and many clients find the familiarity of their own space adds an extra layer of safety to the work.

Is EMDR Right for You?

EMDR isn't the right fit for every person or every presentation, and that's why it’s important to start with a conversation with a qualified therapist rather than deciding alone. It's also worth checking that whoever you see has genuine EMDR training and, ideally, completed their training through an accredited body, such as EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA), alongside registration as an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW), psychologist or counsellor.

If you've been wondering whether EMDR could help with something you've been carrying for a while, whether that's a single event or something that's built up over years, we'd be glad to talk it through with you.

EMDR is available at Mind Over Matters in person in Swan Hill and via telehealth across Victoria and Australia and is eligible for a partial Medicare rebate under a Mental Health Treatment Plan.

Book an appointment or learn more about our EMDR therapy services.

George Mudford