Meet Summer Zell, Therapist for Neurodivergent Women & Mothers

Why This Work Is Personal to Me

I’m a mom of three and a stepmom to two. I know firsthand that motherhood can hold deep love and meaning while also bringing exhaustion, sensory overload, grief, uncertainty, and major changes in identity.

My own experiences with postpartum challenges, difficult family transitions, and rebuilding a sense of self have shaped how I show up as a therapist. They help me meet clients with compassion and honesty without assuming that my experience is the same as theirs.

You deserve space to be a whole person — not only the person who keeps everything moving for everyone else.

Who I Help

I primarily support women and mothers who feel overwhelmed, disconnected from themselves, or exhausted from trying to hold everything together.

You may be navigating:

• Pregnancy, postpartum life, or a changing identity in motherhood

• Diagnosed, recently diagnosed, or suspected ADHD or autism

• Masking, sensory overload, executive-function challenges, or burnout

• Birth trauma or a difficult transition into parenthood

• Childhood experiences, relationship wounds, loss, or other unresolved trauma that continues to affect daily life

• Parenting stress within a neurodivergent household

• Raising a neurodivergent child while trying to understand your own needs

• Separation, single parenting, co-parenting, stepmotherhood, or other changing family roles

• College-to-career transitions, including identity changes, anxiety, burnout, executive-function challenges, relationships, independence, and adjusting to professional life

• A sense that the strategies that once helped you cope are no longer enough

Therapy can help you understand what is happening beneath the overwhelm, reconnect with yourself, and build a life that works more naturally with your needs, values, and nervous system.

My Approach to Therapy

Therapy with me is collaborative and personalized. We will make room for deeper emotional work while also developing practical strategies that can support you outside the therapy room.

Warm and Relational

Healing begins with feeling safe, respected, and genuinely understood. We will move at a pace that honors your capacity and build a relationship where you do not have to perform, mask, or arrive with everything figured out.

Trauma-Informed and Nervous-System Aware

Stress, trauma, and overwhelm affect both the mind and body. Our work may include recognizing nervous-system patterns, building regulation skills, processing difficult experiences at a manageable pace, and developing a greater sense of safety and connection within yourself.

Trauma Therapy and EMDR

I am trained in EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR is a structured psychotherapy approach that may help appropriate clients process distressing experiences and reduce the effect those experiences have on present-day life.

When EMDR is considered, we will discuss your history, readiness, preferences, needs, and goals. Trauma-focused work should be collaborative, carefully paced, and individualized rather than assumed to be the right fit for everyone.

Practical and Evidence-Informed

Insight matters, but you also need support that works in daily life. We will balance reflection with realistic tools for boundaries, emotional regulation, routines, sensory needs, communication, and the mental load of motherhood.

Neurodivergence-Affirming

The goal is not to “fix” your brain or force you to function like someone else. We will work to understand your needs, reduce shame, strengthen self-trust, and create strategies that respect how your mind and body actually work.

How My BCBA Background Informs Therapy

My experience as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst helps me understand how patterns, environments, routines, and unmet needs can affect daily life. In therapy, I use that perspective collaboratively and respectfully—not to force compliance or erase neurodivergent traits.

Education, Credentials & Specialized Training

• Master of Arts in Counseling: Art Therapy, Adler University, Chicago, 2009

• Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC-A) in South Carolina

• Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)

• Certification in sleep, stress, and recovery coaching

• Completed EMDR Basic Training, September 2026

• Professional experience supporting autistic children, neurodivergent families, women, and mothers

• Integrative work informed by art therapy, attachment, nervous-system regulation, self-compassion, and practical behavioral strategies

Ways We Can Work Together

In-Person Therapy in Charleston

Meet in a calm, supportive setting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Walk & Talk Therapy Along the Coast

For clients who feel more comfortable processing while moving, Walk & Talk therapy offers an opportunity to combine therapeutic conversation with gentle outdoor movement.

Virtual Therapy Across South Carolina

Secure online sessions make therapy more accessible for busy mothers, professionals, caregivers, and clients who prefer meeting from their own space.

Availability and the best format for your needs can be discussed during your consultation.

Featured In

Summer’s work and professional journey have been featured in:

• Hidden Gems: Meet Summer Zell of Summer Sol Counseling — Voyage South Carolina, April 30, 2025

• Vacationing with Peace of Mind: Local Therapist Offers Guided Beach Walks and Virtual Sessions to Navigate Vacation Stress and Family Dynamics — The Folly Current, June 2025
  

Questions Clients Often Ask

Do I need a formal ADHD or autism diagnosis?

No. You do not need a formal diagnosis to explore whether neurodivergence may be affecting your experiences, relationships, sensory needs, or daily life. Therapy is not the same as a formal diagnostic assessment, but it can offer a supportive place to better understand yourself.

Will therapy be practical or mostly exploratory?

Both. We can explore the emotions, patterns, relationships, and experiences beneath what you are carrying while also developing practical strategies you can use in everyday life.

What does your BCBA background add to therapy?

It helps me look closely at how your environment, routines, sensory needs, demands, and patterns interact. That perspective is integrated with counseling in a compassionate, collaborative way that respects autonomy and neurodivergence.

Do you currently offer EMDR therapy?

Yes. I am trained in EMDR and may incorporate it into therapy when it is clinically appropriate and aligned with the client’s needs, readiness, and goals. EMDR is not automatically used with every trauma client, and its potential fit will be discussed collaboratively.

Do you only work with mothers?

No. While motherhood, neurodivergence, perinatal mental health, and trauma are central areas of my practice, I also work with women navigating the transition from college to career.

Therapy may support concerns related to identity, anxiety, burnout, executive functioning, relationships, independence, and adjusting to the expectations of professional life. A free consultation can help us determine whether my experience and approach fit what you need.

See If We’re a Good Fit

You do not need to know exactly what to say or which service fits before reaching out. A free 15-minute consultation gives you an opportunity to briefly share what is bringing you in, ask questions, and decide whether working together feels like a good next step.