Hey, I'm Ruby!

Ruby Simms-Cumbers (she/her) is a Registered Psychologist and PhD researcher with over a decade of experience working across the mental health and disability sectors. Her professional journey has included roles in disability support, therapy assistance, tertiary teaching, and psychological assessment, giving her a broad understanding of the systems and environments that shape people’s wellbeing.

As an Autistic and ADHD (AuDHD) psychologist with lived experience of chronic health conditions including POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and hypermobility, Ruby brings both professional knowledge and personal understanding to her work. Her lived experience has shaped her commitment to creating spaces where people feel understood beyond labels, symptoms, or perceived limitations. It has also deepened her appreciation of the ways that neurodivergence, physical health, sensory experiences, and environments can interact to influence a person’s capacity, wellbeing, and sense of self.

Ruby is currently completing neurodiversity-affirming research exploring the lived experiences of Autistic and ADHD women, girls, and AFAB individuals with co-occurring chronic health conditions. Her research interests reflect her passion for understanding the complex interactions between neurotype, the body, health, identity, and access to appropriate support.

She also holds postgraduate qualifications in Creative Arts Therapies and Child-Centred Play Therapy, which inform her belief that understanding ourselves is not only a cognitive process, but also an embodied and creative one. Ruby’s approach integrates psychological science with curiosity, compassion, and whole-person care, recognising that people cannot be separated into disconnected parts.

Ruby is particularly interested in areas that have historically been overlooked or misunderstood, including high-masking and internalised Autism presentations, PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance / Pervasive Drive for Autonomy), twice-exceptionality, and the experiences of neurodivergent people living with co-occurring health conditions such as autonomic dysfunction (e.g., POTS), mast cell-related conditions, chronic fatigue, and connective tissue disorders (HSD/hEDS).

Her work is grounded in the belief that difference does not need to be fixed, but understood. Ruby aims to support people in developing greater self-understanding, self-compassion, and access to environments that recognise and accommodate diverse ways of thinking, feeling, sensing, and being.

For more information about Ruby’s approach, see Approach.