If you are in the mental health field and have not had a neurodivergent (ND) client, you will.
This can be daunting to clinicians working within the medical model for several reasons. One may not know if a client is neurodivergent (ND). As ND people often do not see themselves as needing to be “fixed,” they may not feel certain treatment approaches and/or vocabulary apply to them – and yet they are in our offices seeking help. Many self-diagnose, and there are as many presentations of neurodivergence as there are neurodivergent people. How do we conceptualize working with this population?
One approach is to de-center the neurotypical classification of behavior as the primary issue and focus treatment instead on the identification and remediation of associated trauma. Sadly, trauma and Neurodivergence often go together, and one of the primary results of this is masking.
Masking is the compensatory strategy many ND people develop to manage social expectations. This skill initially allows them to “fit in” better. Over the long term, though, the masking takes a huge toll and most often results in extreme mental and emotional fatigue, chronic and extreme emotional dysregulation, exacerbated learning difficulties, and frightening and isolating trauma responses.
In this in-depth continuing education certificate series, the presenter will discuss what it means to be non-pathologizing in more depth, demonstrating the need to expand beyond the medical model. Social justice aspects of neurodivergence will be explored, and a tool that enables a better conceptualization of self than the current “diagnosis” model will be taught and practiced. Then, several methods to streamline addressing various neurodivergent differences will be shared and applied to case situations and in-session work groups.
This series is for anyone who took the survey course and wants more. The survey course is NOT a requirement. If you’re ready to firm up your repertoire of skills working with Neurodivergent clients by learning a new tool you will find nowhere else, then you’re in the right place!
Cascadia Training values quality continuing education that is accessible, inclusive, and without barriers to all. We never want the cost of our workshops to be a barrier to attending one of our workshops, particularly our multi-session workshops.
We offer several options to make our workshops cost-inclusive: payment plans, a limited number of full and partial scholarships, discounts for students, and discounts for early professionals.
For payment plans, you can select paying 50% today and the remaining 50% will automatically be processed from your credit card on the last day of November.
Please email us at [email protected] to inquire about discounts and scholarships.
12 CEs
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