Individual therapy · Neurodivergence
Autism therapy for adults
For autistic adults: diagnosed, self-identified or still wondering. No fixing, no social skills drills and no pretending to be someone else. Therapy that starts from how your brain actually works.
- 50-minute sessions, $200
- Neurodivergent-affirming
- Online in TX, ME, MT and NH
Is this you?
You've spent years translating yourself for everyone else.
You learned the rules by watching, practiced the faces, rehearsed the small talk and got good enough that most people never noticed. But passing has a price, and lately the bill is getting harder to pay.
- You hold it together all day, then need hours alone just to feel like yourself again
- Social plans you were looking forward to still leave you wiped out for days
- Noise, lights, textures or crowded rooms hit harder than they seem to for everyone else
- You recently realized you might be autistic, and now your whole history makes more sense
- Things you used to manage, like phone calls, cooking or work, are suddenly much harder
- You've been told you're “too much,” “too sensitive” or “too blunt,” and you're tired of shrinking
Outside and inside
What people see, and what's actually going on
So much of autistic life gets read from the outside and labeled wrong. Select a card to see the other side.
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What people see“Rude or blunt”
What's often going on
Saying exactly what I mean, without the padding I was never taught to add.
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What people see“Antisocial”
What's often going on
Social time costs energy, and today's has already been spent.
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What people see“Overreacting to noise”
What's often going on
My brain doesn't turn the volume down on its own. Every sound arrives at full strength.
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What people see“Rigid about plans”
What's often going on
Predictability is how I save enough energy to get through the day.
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What people see“Not paying attention”
What's often going on
Looking away is how I listen better. Eye contact takes effort I'd rather spend on you.
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What people see“Fine at work, a mess at home”
What's often going on
Masking all day, then the bill arrives the moment the door closes.
Therapy starts with the inside view. Yours, in your words.
The cycle, mapped
Burnout isn't a weakness. It's a budget problem.
Many autistic adults run a cycle that spends more energy than it earns: masking to get through the day, pushing past limits, crashing, then recovering just enough to start again. Naming the cycle is the first step, because you can't change what you can't see.
The cost of fitting in
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MaskingReading the room, all day.
Where we can step in
Masking
We sort out where masking is a choice and where it's on autopilot, then find places in your life where it's safe to set it down.
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OverextendingSaying yes, holding it together.
Where we can step in
Overextending
We map your real energy budget, including hidden costs like commutes, small talk and transitions, so your yes and no match what you actually have.
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OverloadNoise, change, one more ask.
Where we can step in
Overload
We name your sensory and social triggers and build supports ahead of time: headphones, scripts, exit plans and quiet time between demands.
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CrashShutdown or meltdown.
Where we can step in
Crash
We treat a shutdown or meltdown as your nervous system hitting its limit, not a tantrum or a failure, and plan what helps during and after so it's less frightening.
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Partial recoveryRest just long enough to restart.
Where we can step in
Partial recovery
We make recovery real and routine, not just what's left over after a crash, so you start the next week with something in the tank.
- And around again, unless the budget changes.
High-achieving autistic adults
Successful on paper. Exhausted underneath.
Many autistic adults are very good at what they do: the expert everyone calls, the one who spots the pattern no one else sees, the person who never drops a detail. That competence is often exactly why the autism was missed, and why burnout lands as such a shock.
Often it's a promotion that tips things: more meetings, more people to manage and less of the deep work that used to refuel you. We work on keeping what makes you good at your work without paying for it with everything else. See also burnout therapy and meaning and relationships.
What we work on
- Burnout hidden behind strong performance reviews
- Meetings, small talk and office politics that cost more than the work itself
- Promotions into management, and whether the next rung actually fits
- Whether and how to disclose at work, and which accommodations to ask for
- Perfectionism, and the fear that slowing down means falling apart
- Changing careers when the job you're good at no longer fits who you are
Who I work with
Every kind of autistic adulthood
Identified at 6 or at 46, with a diagnosis or without one. If you've always felt like you were running different software, this work was built for you.
Late-identified adults
Realizing you're autistic in adulthood, and re-reading a whole life through a new lens: the relief, the grief and everything in between.
Self-identified and questioning
No formal diagnosis needed. If the pattern fits, the work fits, and we can explore it together.
High-masking and high-achieving adults
Outwardly fine, inwardly exhausted. Often missed for decades, especially in women and people who learned to perform well. See high achievers.
AuDHD adults
Autistic and ADHD together: two systems that sometimes want opposite things. See ADHD therapy.
PDA profiles
When demands, even ones you want, set off a threat response. We build plans around choice and autonomy instead of pressure.
Dating and marriage
Dating, friendship and partnership on your terms. See dating and autism and marriage and autism.
What we work on
Four areas we work on
Each gets focused work, matched to how autism actually shows up in your life.
Masking and identity
Figuring out who you are underneath the performance. We look at where masking protects you, where it costs too much, and what it would look like to unmask a little, safely and at your pace.
Energy, sensory needs and burnout
Your sensory profile, your real energy budget and the early signs of burnout. We build routines and supports that refuel you, so recovery isn't only what happens after a crash.
Relationships and communication
Friendships, dating, family and partners. We work on saying what you need in a way that lands, spotting the double empathy gap, and finding people who don't need you to translate.
Work, meaning and daily life
Transitions, executive function, and work that fits how you think. Many autistic adults come in burned out by careers built for someone else. See meaning and relationships.
Dating and relationships
Dating and autism
Dating runs on unwritten rules: hints, small talk, mixed signals and loud first-date bars. None of that is a test of whether you're ready for love. It's just a format that wasn't built for you.
We work on dating in a way that fits how you communicate, so you can look for connection without masking your way through it. Some people come in hoping to date for the first time, some after a breakup, and some just wanting friendships that don't drain them.
What we work on
- Whether, when and how to tell someone you're autistic
- Reading interest without guessing, and asking directly when you're not sure
- Dating apps, first messages and scripts for the parts that feel unclear
- Dates that work for your senses and your energy, not just the default dinner and drinks
- Saying what you need, setting a pace and talking clearly about consent and intimacy
- Spotting people who respect your needs, and the ones who don't
Marriage and long-term partnership
Marriage and autism
Many autistic adults are in loving, committed marriages that still keep missing each other. One partner feels unheard, the other feels criticized, and both are working hard. Usually the problem isn't love or effort. It's translation.
When the diagnosis comes mid-marriage
A late autism diagnosis can reframe years of the same arguments. We sort out what changes now, what it explains, and what it doesn't excuse.
When shutdown looks like stonewalling
Going quiet in a hard conversation can read as not caring. Often it's overload. We build a pause-and-return plan you both trust.
When one of you is always translating
Hints, unspoken expectations, sensory needs and who carries the mental load. We make the invisible rules visible so neither of you has to guess.
Come alone or together
You can work on your side of the marriage in individual sessions, or come as a couple. When the pattern lives between you, neurodiverse couples therapy is often the better fit. For something you can start at home, Translation, Not Blame: The Neurodiverse Couples Workbook walks you through it together.
How therapy works
Clear, predictable and built in steps
No guessing what happens next. Within the first few sessions, you'll know your plan, what each session covers and roughly how long the work might take.
Sessions can work the way you work: camera off, using the chat, sending notes ahead of time or getting a written summary afterward. I'm direct, so you won't have to decode what I mean. My training includes AANE training in PDA and neurodiverse couples, ACT for Autism and Adult ADHD, and DBT for Neurodivergent Clients. More about my training.
Getting to know you
Your profile: sensory needs, communication preferences, strengths and what's been hardest.
Your energy map
Where your energy goes, what refuels you and where the burnout cycle runs.
Building supports
Masking, sensory supports, relationships and boundaries, at a pace that fits you.
Making it yours
Shaping it so it holds up in real life, then finishing with a plan.
The details
How sessions work
Format
Online by secure Zoom video. You need to be physically in Texas, Maine, Montana or New Hampshire during each session. Online means your own space, your own lighting and no waiting room. How online therapy works.
Fees
$200 for 50 minutes, or $350 for 90 minutes. I'm private pay. I can provide a monthly superbill for out-of-network benefits, but reimbursement isn't guaranteed, so check with your insurer first. Services and fees.
Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm Eastern, 8 to 11am Central, or 7 to 10am Mountain. Same time each week if you'd like it.
Do I need a formal autism diagnosis to start?
No. Self-identified and questioning adults are welcome. I don't do evaluations myself, but if you want a formal assessment, I'm happy to refer you to someone who does. Many people find therapy helps them decide whether an evaluation is worth it for them.
Are you going to try to make me less autistic?
No. There are no social skills drills and no goal of looking more neurotypical. The goal is a life that fits how you actually work: less masking where it costs too much, more of what refuels you, and relationships where you can be understood.
Can I keep my camera off or type instead of talk?
Yes. Camera off, using the chat, sending notes ahead of time, or asking for a written summary after a session are all fine. Tell me what makes sessions easier, and we'll set them up that way. You don't need to explain why.
What is autistic burnout?
It's a deep exhaustion that builds after long stretches of masking and pushing past your limits. It can show up as losing skills you usually have, like speaking or handling tasks, along with more shutdowns and less tolerance for noise and change. It isn't laziness, and resting for a weekend usually won't fix it. Part of our work is spotting it early and changing the budget that caused it.
I think I might be AuDHD. Can you help with both?
Yes. Autistic and ADHD traits often want opposite things, like routine and novelty, or quiet and stimulation, so generic advice for either one can backfire. We map your profile first, then build for how you actually work. The ADHD therapy page has more on that side.
Do you work with PDA?
Yes. I've completed AANE training in PDA, sometimes called pathological demand avoidance or a persistent drive for autonomy. If demands, even ones you want, set off a threat response, we work with that instead of against it: more choice, less pressure, and plans that don't feel like orders.
Autism is affecting my relationship. Should I come alone or with my partner?
If the biggest cost right now is the partnership, like communication that keeps missing or one partner always translating, neurodiverse couples therapy is often the better place to start. If it's mostly work, daily life, dating or identity, start on your own. Not sure? That's what the free consultation is for.
How much does it cost?
Individual sessions are $200 for 50 minutes, or $350 for 90 minutes. I'm private pay. If you have out-of-network benefits, I can give you a monthly superbill to submit, but reimbursement isn't guaranteed, so check with your insurer first. See services and fees for details.
Come as you are. Notes welcome.
The consultation is a free 15-minute phone call. I'll call you at the time you choose, and you're welcome to write down what you want to say first. No pressure, no commitment.
Rather start in writing? Email contact@