Experiencing mental health difficulties is a devastatingly common part of being autistic, and while good counselling can be extremely effective, it is all too common for therapy to be inaccessible or not sufficiently attuned to neurodivergent needs, sometimes even leading to harm. This talk will explore the challenges faced by neurodivergent, particularly autistic, people when accessing counselling and psychotherapy, and look at some ways therapy can be made more helpful and accessible for neurodivergent people.

Drawing from the speaker's own experience as an autistic therapist and therapy client, and from research into autistic people's experiences of counselling, this talk aims to invite practitioners, clients and others to expand their imaginations around what therapy can look and feel like, and how we can adapt our own thinking, understanding and approaches to embrace different ways of experiencing the world.