Not all therapy is created equal.

And if you’re a person with a disability looking for mental health support, that matters more than people realize.

Because finding a therapist isn’t just about finding someone “nice” or someone with availability. It’s about figuring out whether the person sitting across from you understands disability in a way that won’t leave you feeling misunderstood, pathologized, or quietly blamed for struggling in a world that often wasn’t built with you in mind.

A lot of people assume that if a therapist takes disabled clients, they must already understand disability.

That’s not necessarily true.

Disability isn’t understood in just one way. Over time, different models of disability have shaped how society explains disability, who is responsible for change, and what support should look like. These models influence everything—healthcare, therapy, education, and policy.