Psychotherapy

I work with autistic and non-autistic people, but have a particular focus on late identified autistic adults in particular because…

Realizing you’re autistic as an adult is a bewildering experience. Much of what you knew, or thought you knew, might be turned upside down or sideways. One minute everything makes sense and you experience a peace you didn’t think was possible, the next you’re floundering and wondering what to do.  You might be ragefully mourning all that was lost in those years without recognition, or settling into a malaise upon receiving what feels like final confirmation of what’s wrong with you.

It's true that much of what people think about autism is wrong. The good news is, there are ways to help you feel right.

You don’t need to be fixed, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t use help…because despite what they say about autistic people, it’s very possible you’re having some pretty big feelings. (And perhaps you have no idea what to eat for breakfast and it’s messing up your whole day.)

I can help. Maybe not with all the things, but definitely some of the things.

There are a lot of assumptions baked in to the various psychotherapies offered today that make it difficult for autistic people to receive appropriate mental health care, even when they aren’t closely aligned with the medical model. Ideas embedded in attachment theory, and others that stem from it, for example, are based on “normal development” and as it turns out…you’re not normal, you’re super fantastic!


Don’t worry. I won’t persist with the super power thing. Toxic positivity is not my jam. You might look fine, or great even, which is actually part of the problem, because inside you’re falling apart. I know you’re struggling, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. It is rare for autistic people in our culture to thrive without some sort of assist. Chronic misunderstanding is only the tip of the trauma iceberg and false reassurance can be like salt in the wound.

I unfortunately do not have the power to make our systems less disabling, but I do have the option to make sure the services I provide are inclusive, affirming and effective in ways that others cannot.

I am not going to “treat your autism,” but provide a place for you to locate and integrate thoughts and feelings and build a foundation within yourself that will support you as you move with greater confidence into the future.

Together, we might:

  • Reframe and release the shame of past experience

  • Create a larger context of meaning in which to locate yourself and others

  • Recognize patterns of stuckness

  • Uncover new potential for change

  • Explore unmasking

  • Understand how you manage stress

  • Identify your needs

  • Discover new ways to cope

  • Learn self advocacy

  • Experiment with new ways of being and expressing yourself

  • Define what being autistic means for YOU

The work I do is collaborative, insight-oriented, and autonomy-supportive. It promotes growth in ways that might be surprising.

I don’t know what’s in store for you when you’re feeling better—let’s find out!