Autism Assessment & Therapy
One of the biggest struggles for someone who is Autistic can be feelings of confusion, frustration and isolation in relationships, and the anxiety and depression that can often come from this.
If you have been diagnosed with, or strongly suspect that you may have Adult Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), you know all too well the longing to connect with people in meaningful ways, but not being able to do it well. You may feel like you live in a completely different “culture” - sometimes like a different planet, than the rest of the world. You may feel like a "square peg in a round-hole-world". You simply may not feel like you know how to relate like others do.
You have probably suffered for as long as you can remember and may relate with some of these challenges:
You might struggle with relationships - especially intimate ones. You might feel isolated and lonely. Your loved ones might also feel disappointed that you are unable to communicate with them in the way that they want.
You might often feel left out, criticized and misunderstood.
You might struggle to keep up with social conversations; you are not sure what to say or how to respond.
You can feel strong emotions, but you have difficulty putting them into words.
People want and expect things from you that you are unable to give. It’s very confusing and frustrating.
You might struggle with self-compassion because you think it’s difficult to like yourself when so many people seem to shy away from you.
You might struggle with overwhelming sensory sensitivities that seemingly don’t impact others at all but feel exhausting and even debilitating for you.
It is possible to overcome many of these struggles.
Please don’t give up hope! It is possible to overcome many of these struggles and have more satisfying relationships.
As psychologists and therapists who understand Autism, we would like to work with you to assist with acquiring the confidence to unmask, be in alignment to your true self and also develop skills to help relate to others in more helpful ways. Through the diagnostic assessment process, we can move from diagnosis to discovery of how your brain is wired in an effort to improve your overall mental health, relationships and well-being. Through the therapeutic process, we can strive to work together to move from feelings of confusion, exhaustion, frustration and burnout and more towards hope, courage, greater self-acceptance, self-compassion, and contentment.
It would be our pleasure and honour to help you work towards feeling more confident and secure in yourself.
Our goal is to assist you with developing compassion, self-acceptance, insight, and awareness about how your unique brain is wired so that that you can better understand your patterns, needs and feelings without any guilt or shame, while also working towards better understanding how to improve communication and deepen connection with your neurotypical loved ones.
Common therapeutic goals might include:
Gain insight on why things have been so difficult for you. The purpose of this is to feel a sense of relief once you understand this better with more self-compassion and self-acceptance.
Discover how to communicate more effectively with others. You might even feel surprised at how skilled you already might be in this area.
Learn how to be more comfortable with setting and maintaining healthy boundaries and how to navigate in social situations so you won’t deplete your social battery completely.
Decode the mystery of non-verbal language and emotions. In sessions we will endeavour to show you how to better understand your possible challenges with interception, alexithymia, sensory sensitivities, and neurodivergent burnout.
Work towards getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable with unmasking (or even discovering how often you might be masking without realizing it!)
Help the loved ones in your life better understand you and for you to better understand them in an effort to deepen your relationships.
We invite you to take the first step to contact us for more information about diagnostic assessment or counselling services. The sooner you do, the sooner we can get started on helping you create the life and relationships that you long for.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Warmly, Aligned Minds
