In this short video, I explain how a planned block of video sessions spares you the effort of starting again every week, and how we keep it within your capacity.
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Back-to-back online neurodiverse psychotherapy helps neurodivergent adults who lose momentum between weekly appointments to do focused work in a planned block. We meet by video, in English, for several 1-hour sessions with 50 minutes of therapy each, placed on one day with long breaks, on consecutive days, across one week or over a weekend, at times that fit your time zone.
I help you use the time without overloading you: we agree the aim, the order of the sessions and the rest in between before we begin. This is the back-to-back strand of online neurodiverse psychotherapy, which belongs to my wider online psychotherapy. If you need help this week rather than a planned block, acute online neurodiverse psychotherapy fits better.
To plan a block, start with a free 30-minute call, book a first session, read my client policy or write to me about dates.
Back-to-back online neurodiverse psychotherapy is for autistic, ADHD and AuDHD adults, and people who suspect they are, who find that a week between sessions erases too much. You want depth and continuity in a short, well-planned stretch, from your own room, without the cost of starting over each time.
A planned block suits some situations better than others. If one of these lines describes you more closely, the linked page will serve you better.
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These reviews describe clients’ experiences of working with me. They come from my wider practice and do not all relate to online sessions. Each person’s experience is their own, and a review does not promise a particular outcome.
“Working with people in many time zones, I have come to think that the weekly hour quietly charges many neurodivergent people a fee to get back in. They arrive, spend half the session rebuilding the context, and leave just as the real work begins. Underneath, one voice asks ‘Will you still remember what mattered to me last time?’ and another says ‘Give me a few days to sort this out on my own first.’ Both deserve respect. A planned block lets us stay with a subject long enough to reach the part that matters. What I disagree with is the idea that more hours are always better. The breaks are part of the work, and I protect them as carefully as the sessions.”
Mark Colclough, MA, psychotherapist and EFT couples therapist
I am Mark Colclough, MA. I have practised since 2004 and offer online psychotherapy and couples therapy in English.
My training brings together your emotions, your thoughts and your relationships. My deep passion is the moment when what happens between you finally makes sense, to each of you and to each other. I have lived and worked in nine countries, so I know something of life across languages, cultures and borders.
Read about my background, or explore online psychotherapy and online couples therapy.
I meet regularly with experienced psychotherapists to reflect on my work, question my understanding and develop my skills. Supervision is part of the professional care I bring to individual and couples work, including online sessions.
My focus is thoughtful practice, integrity and responsibility.
You are welcome to ask about the kind of support you need.
Tell me where you are based and your time zone. We can then consider whether online sessions together are suitable.
David is 38 and works as a software tester in Wellington. He tried weekly therapy for a year and liked his therapist, yet every session began with 20 minutes of catching up, and the useful thoughts came on the bus home. A friend thinks he is autistic, and he has started reading everything he can find. Before he starts a new role next month, he has 4 days off and wants to use some of them to understand why he burns out every second year.
I would start by agreeing with David what the block is for, and what it is not for, so that the sessions have a clear shape. We might plan 3 sessions across 2 evenings, with long breaks. The first would probably show him that his burnouts follow a pattern he can learn to see coming.
I have presented this clinical example as a compound of 22 years of clinical practice.
You have kept going to weekly sessions and done your part, yet each week the thread slips away before it can hold.
There is no perfect moment to plan a block of therapy, and no required reason. If you sense that your mind needs longer stretches to reach what matters, that is reason enough. You do not need a diagnosis, a neat summary of the problem or a crisis before we start. In 22 years of practice I have seen how often neurodivergent people blame themselves for therapy that did not fit their rhythm, when the format was the problem.
In our first conversation I will help you work out what the block should address, what keeps the difficulty going and what has to change first. These 6 questions can help you decide whether a block is the right step.
If so, notice it rather than blaming yourself. You recap last week, explain the context again and reach something important in the final 10 minutes. Then 7 days of ordinary life fill the gap, and you arrive further away than before.
I would look at how you take in and hold information, and at what happens to an insight once the session ends. That shows whether a different rhythm would help. If you recognise this, book a session with me and we can plan a block that fits.
Both can be true, because they protect different needs. One part of you wants to go all the way into a subject, the way you do with anything that truly interests you. Another part knows how long recovery takes after a demanding day.
I do not side with either part. The wish for depth is not recklessness, and the wish for margin is not avoidance. I help you hear what each protects, then we build a plan with time to go deep and enough rest that you are not paying for it all week.
Many neurodivergent people have spent years being half understood, so a gap between sessions can feel like a risk. You wonder whether I remember what you said, or whether you will have to prove it all again.
Your need to be held in mind is legitimate, and I will not treat it as too much. In a block, continuity is built into the shape of the work, because the next session is close. I also help you notice the old alarm that expects to be forgotten, and practise telling me directly what you need me to keep hold of.
Yes, and it can confuse you as much as anyone. You ask for a long conversation, then feel flooded halfway through. You want structure, then feel boxed in by it. For a neurodivergent nervous system, closeness and input can tip from welcome to overwhelming in a few minutes.
In a planned block I slow this down on purpose. We agree in advance when the breaks come, so you do not have to fight for them, and we notice together the moment when contact turns into overload. I respect the urge to escape, and I will also ask you to say so before you vanish.
When noise, questions and other people’s needs pile up, you may lose words, go blank or need to be completely alone. Afterwards you turn factual, insist all is fine and cancel the next 3 plans. The shutdown protects you, yet it can look like indifference from outside.
My view is that needing distance to recover is not a flaw. I help you understand what the shutdown is shielding you from, and how to stay present for a little longer without feeling swamped. In a block we practise naming your limit early, so that a break replaces a collapse.
Years of fitting into offices and families built for other nervous systems can wear down your sense of self. You grow skilled at reading what others expect and unsure what you would choose. That is a sign of how hard you have worked, not of anything broken in you.
A block gives us enough unbroken time to look at this properly. I will help you separate the adaptations you still want from the ones that cost too much, and I will challenge you when you shrink yourself to fit. I will not hand you a new identity. What I want for you is a firmer feel for the shape of life that suits you.
If this sounds like you, book a free call to plan the dates together, or book a first session if you already know what you want the block to address.
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Tell me briefly what kind of support you are looking for.
Include your country and time zone so we can discuss whether online work together is possible and find a suitable time.
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Understanding your pattern in a block is useful, but it has to change how you plan, rest, speak and decide once the block is over.
A block of sessions with me will help you see what is happening, recognise the patterns that keep it going and leave with changes you can use the following week. Insight on its own is pleasant for a day, then fades. We aim for something that lasts longer.
Across 22 years of practice, I have learned that a concentrated block only works when the therapist takes an active part. I will structure the time, tell you what I notice and challenge explanations that keep you stuck. The 6 questions below describe what we work towards.
Related reading: Why does ADHD keep pulling us into the same fight?.
I help you separate the central difficulty from the noise around it. Missed deadlines, sleepless nights and arguments are real, yet they are often the results of something deeper: chronic overload, a mask worn for too long, or an old belief that your needs are an imposition.
Before the block, and in its first session, I give you my reading of what deserves attention and which explanations are keeping you stuck. When you are ready, book a session with me and we can agree the focus together.
By learning its earliest signals. There is usually a sequence: a sound that becomes unbearable, a tightening jaw, a sudden urge to tidy or to leave. Once you see the first step, you gain a moment in which you can choose differently.
A block is a good place to study this, because you notice it happening between sessions on the same day. I help you slow the sequence down and see what triggers it and what it protects. Then we practise a different response until you can use it without me.
Settling does not mean looking calm for other people. It means staying present enough to know what you need and choose how to respond. For many neurodivergent people that means less input, more movement or a different kind of rest, not more willpower.
I help you notice activation sooner and work out what your nervous system is reacting to. Between sessions in a block, you test what actually restores you: a walk, silence, a familiar task. I expect you to use those breaks deliberately, because they are where much of the integration happens.
Clear communication begins with knowing what you feel, what you need and what belongs to you. Years of being misread can push you towards long justifications, apologies or silence. None of them gets you what you need, and the frustration builds.
Together we find words that are honest, specific and short enough to use. I will challenge you when you silence yourself, and also when you expect others to guess. In a block, we can draft a real message to a manager or partner in one session and test it in the next.
Decisions become clearer once you separate fear, habit and other people’s expectations from what you actually know and value. When the options keep circling, it is often because every choice feels permanent and every detail feels equally important.
I help you lay the options out and look at what each would ask of you, with time in a block to come back to them after a break. You will get my honest opinion, and I will name it when I see you avoiding the choice, but the decision stays yours.
Change has to show up after our last session, in how you plan your weeks, protect your recovery and speak up at work. You may need different routines, fewer commitments, clearer agreements with the people close to you, or a working pattern that matches your energy.
I help you decide what needs to change and what is fine as it is. Your intensity, your focus and your need for quiet are not the problem. The aim is a life organised around how you actually work, with a clear plan for what follows the block.
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You do not need a diagnosis, a timeline or a perfect summary. We begin with what is hard now and what you want the block to change.
When you begin, I listen, help you name the central difficulty and propose a structure for the block before the first long day. You can ask for processing time or a pause at any point.
A block is one format within my online psychotherapy, which is structured individual work on your inner life and relationships, and it often leads into calmer weekly sessions afterwards. If the difficulty lives mainly between you and your partner, online couples therapy offers long-term relational development and healing. A therapy bundle brings real savings and the security of a plan agreed before the block starts.
In the first session I ask what brought you here now, what has not worked before and what you want to be different when the block ends. I also ask how you take in information, what tires you and what helps you recover, so the rest of the block fits you.
By the end, I offer my first understanding and a plan for the remaining sessions, which we can still adjust. You decide whether this way of working suits you. If you want to talk it through first, book a free 30-minute call.
Individual work is right when the main focus is you: your energy, your history, your patterns, your decisions and the way you move through work and relationships. We can explore your relationships in depth without anyone else on the call.
In a block I give you direction, continuity and honest challenge across several sessions. If you are unsure whether to focus on neurodivergence or on your life more broadly, online psychotherapy describes my structured individual work as a whole.
Choose couples work when the relationship, rather than your own rhythm, is what needs months of attention. If the same misunderstandings keep returning, if one of you feels lonely while the other feels criticised, or if trust has been damaged, working together usually helps more.
In couples work I help both of you see the cycle between you and build steadier ways of relating. Online couples therapy is long-term relational development and healing, and when neurodivergence shapes the relationship, online neurodiverse couples therapy is the more specific place to start.
That depends on what the block is for, how much input you can take in one day and how much recovery you need. Some people do well with 3 sessions on one day and long breaks. Others need one session a day across a week.
I recommend a shape based on what you tell me about your energy and on how the first session goes. I will tell you plainly if a plan is too dense, and I will slow down or pause if you are no longer able to use the time. After the block, we decide whether weekly sessions should follow.
Almost always, because a block is several sessions planned together. Buying them as a bundle means you are not deciding after each hour whether to continue, which is one less decision on a demanding day.
Bought as a bundle, each hour of the block costs less, and the plan is settled before day one. I help you choose a size that fits the block and any follow-up. You can see the options under therapy discounts and bundles and in the cards below.
The work has done its job when you understand what was happening, can recognise overload earlier and have a plan you trust for the weeks ahead. A block may be complete in itself, or it may be the start of steadier work.
I review progress openly at the end of each day of the block and again afterwards. I do not encourage therapy without a clear purpose. You may stop, move to occasional sessions or plan another block later, and coming back with a new question does not mean the first block failed.
Not sure a block is the right place to start? Here is how it compares with the options neurodivergent people most often weigh up.
| Option | Choose it when | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Back-to-back online neurodiverse psychotherapy (this page) | You want depth and continuity in a short, planned stretch. | Several 1-hour video sessions close together |
| Online neurodiverse psychotherapy | You want steady work on neurodivergent life over several months. | Weekly or fortnightly 1-hour video sessions |
| Back-to-back online psychotherapy | You want a concentrated block on a subject unrelated to neurodivergence. | A planned block of video sessions |
| Acute online neurodiverse psychotherapy | Something has collapsed, and you need help within days. | Video sessions soon and close together at first |
Back-to-back online neurodiverse psychotherapy is individual psychotherapy by video, in English, delivered as a planned block of several 1-hour sessions placed close together. It is for autistic, ADHD and AuDHD adults who lose continuity when sessions are a week apart.
I plan the block around your capacity, with breaks you can rely on, and I work with the whole person, not a checklist of traits. It is part of my online neurodiverse psychotherapy.
Consider a block when weekly sessions keep resetting, when your schedule cannot hold a regular slot, or when your thinking only gets going once you are fully inside a subject. Your own sense that the rhythm is wrong is enough reason to ask.
I look at how you process, how quickly you tire and how you recover. Some people do better with a block, some with weekly work, and some with a block followed by occasional sessions. I will tell you honestly which I would suggest.
They should not, and if they start to, we change the plan. A block is designed to fit your capacity, with long breaks and a pace we agree in advance. I cannot promise how much will shift, but I can promise to watch how you are doing.
In my clinical experience, neurodivergent people are often better at concentrated work than they expect, as long as the breaks are real and nobody pushes them past their limit. I keep an eye on concentration, tone and energy, and I will slow us down before you have to ask.
Yes. You do not need a diagnosis or a formal assessment. Many people come with a strong suspicion, a recent discovery or simply a sense that they work differently.
I do not diagnose and I do not run tests. I work with what you actually experience and what you need. If you want a formal assessment, I will say so when it seems useful, and you would arrange it separately with a qualified assessor where you live.
Both are ways of looking after yourself. Going deep feels alive and meaningful. Disappearing afterwards gives your system time to recover from the input. Neither is a flaw in your character.
I help you see the rhythm in this, so you can plan for it rather than be ambushed by it. In a block, we build the disappearing into the schedule as rest, and we talk about how to tell people you need it without apologising.
Very little. A quiet room, a way to eat and rest between sessions, and a rough idea of what you hope will change are enough. I will open the first session by asking about your energy and how you take in information.
If writing helps you think, you can send me a few notes beforehand, but it is not required. Book your first session, or start with a free 30-minute call if you would like to plan the dates first.
Most blocks have between 3 and 6 sessions, spread over a single day, up to 3 consecutive days or one week. What you want to address, how much input you can manage and how much follow-up you expect all affect the number.
I usually suggest starting with a modest block rather than an ambitious one. In 22 years of practice I have seen that a well-paced short block, followed by an honest review, does far more than a long one that exhausts you.
For many neurodivergent people, video is the easier way to do concentrated work. You control the light, the sound and the temperature, and your breaks happen in your own kitchen or garden, not a waiting room.
Practically, you need a room where nobody can overhear you, headphones, a reliable connection and a laptop or tablet. The calendar shows each session in your local time zone, so we can place a block on days that suit you, including weekends where available. If anything is unclear, ask on a free call.
A block is made of 1-hour individual online sessions, each with 50 minutes of therapy, so the cost depends on how many we plan. My prices page lists the current fee per session in US dollars.
Because a block is several sessions by design, a therapy bundle usually makes sense: it saves 10 per cent and fixes the plan in advance. For a block of your own size, compare the options on therapy discounts and bundles.
Request a free 30-minute call to plan the dates, or book a first session if you already know what you want to address. The calendar shows times in your own time zone.
If you need dates that are not visible in the calendar, or you are unsure how many sessions you need, write to me directly with your time zone and the days you have free. Then we can set the block in place.
You can also send me an email
I want therapy to help you understand your experience and make choices you can use in everyday life. We pay attention to feelings, needs and the responses that happen before you have time to think.
Our online room should offer enough trust and honesty to explore what is difficult. I bring attention and professional judgement. You bring your experience, questions and the right to say when something does not fit.
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