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Digital Seminar

Therapy with Autistic Clients: Empowering Teens and Adults through ACT, CFT, DBT, and Self-Compassion


Speaker:
Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW
Duration:
6 Hours 05 Minutes
Language:
Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
Copyright:
Jun 14, 2024
Product Code:
POS059743
Media Type:
Digital Seminar - Also available: Live Webinar


Description

The correlation between autism and anxiety, phobias, suicidality, depression, and other mental health disorders is well-established.

But the complexities involved in treating autistic and other neurodivergent clients often result in less-than-ideal clinical outcomes.

Watch Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW, a neurodivergent psychotherapist and author, in this one-of-a-kind course focused on giving you the confidence and specialized intervention tools you need to maximize your therapeutic results in working with teens and adults with diagnosed or suspected autism.

You will finish with the ability to:

  • Recognize signs of masking in your assessment process to get to the underlying diagnosis
  • Apply neurodiversity-affirming ACT, CFT, DBT, and self-compassion interventions for depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns
  • Minimize verbal and non-verbal communication barriers and sensory processing differences in the therapeutic process
  • Employ interventions for families, couples, and group work with neurodivergent youth and adults

Purchase now to effectively meet the critical needs of this growing population.

Credit

Program Information

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.



Canada Credit - *

NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.

Continuing Education Information:  Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval. 
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.

Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession.  As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.  

For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

 


Canada Credit - ---

Earn up to 6.0 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession. 


Canada Credit - Social Workers - National ASWB ACE

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2023 - January 27, 2026. Social workers completing this course receive 6.0 Clinical continuing education credits.

 

Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded  asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.

 

Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities approved by the ASWB for ongoing professional development.


Canada Credit - Canadian Psychologists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 6.0 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement


Canada Credit - Other Professions

This self-study activity qualifies for 6.0 continuing education clock hours as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.


US National Boards - Addiction Counselors - NAADAC

This self-study course has been approved by PESI, Inc., as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #77553. PESI, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of their programming.

This self-study course offers 6.0 continuing education contact hours in the Counseling Services skill group. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.


US National Boards - Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants

 

PESI, Inc.  is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Approved provider # 3322. This Distance-Learning Independent activity is offered at .6  CEUs Intermediate, OT Service Delivery. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.

 

Full attendance at this live activity qualifies for .6 contact hours.

 



Handouts

Speaker

Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW's Profile

Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW Related seminars and products


Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in southern Illinois specializing in the crossroads of mental health and neurodiversity. Jennifer is the author of The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook: Tools for Young Adults from ACT, DBT and Recovery-Oriented CBT and writes a blog for Psychology Today entitled ‘Beyond Mental Health: Defying Stereotypes and False Limitations.’

An advocate for neurodiversity-affirming care, Jennifer has provided training to hundreds of clinicians nationwide on topics of neurodivergent youth, and empowering young adults living with mental illness, psychosis, and mental health recovery. She is an autistic person herself who offers a unique perspective infused with lived experience.

 

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Jennifer Gerlach maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Jennifer Gerlach has no relevant non-financial relationships.

 

 


Additional Info

Program Information

Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.

For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.


Questions?

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.


Objectives

  1. Utilize assessment strategies to identify neurodivergent clients.
  2. Choose interventions to improve self-compassion, self-acceptance, and self-validation in neurodivergent clients.
  3. Use community interventions to reduce isolation and social exclusion.
  4. Determine how to adapt traditional psychotherapy strategies to meet the needs of neurodivergent clients.
  5. Choose strategies to build self-advocacy skills in neurodivergent youth.
  6. Utilize compassion focused strategies to reduce rejection-sensitive dysphoria.

Outline

Core Concepts of Autism and Other Neurodiversities
Foxes and wolves: experiencing the world differently

  • Diagnostic features
  • Neurodiversity-specific phenomena
    • Executive functioning
    • Sensory processing
    • Alexithymia
  • Intense world theory
  • Intersectionality with gender identity
  • Common mental health comorbidities
  • Counseling with a neurodiversity-affirming lens

Neurodiversity Screening and Assessment

  • Red flags of undiagnosed adults
  • Intake screening tools for common comorbid conditions
    • Depression and anxiety
    • Eating disorders
    • School dropout
    • Addictions
    • Suicidality
    • Social anxiety
  • Assessment strategies using a neurodiversity-affirming lens
  • Characteristics of autism vs. mental health diagnoses
  • The impact of masking on diagnostics
  • Case study: Autistic college student, presenting with severe anxiety

Autism in the Therapy Room

  • Create safety through sensory and communication techniques adopted from DBT and CFT
  • Set up the environment and capitalize on the need for routine
  • 3 must-use rapport-building activities
  • CFT strategies to increase a client’s emotional and somatic awareness while building self-compassion

From Knowledge to Practice
Address the Fall-Out of Living in a Neurotypical World

  • Five executive functioning skill-building strategies to reduce autistic burnout
  • Compassion-focused approaches to minimize rejection-sensitive dysphoria
  • Community interventions to reduce isolation and social exclusion
  • Strategies to minimize meltdowns and shutdowns through dialectical approaches
  • Double empathy and its impact on relationships
  • Limitations of the research and potential risks

Counselling Autistic Adults
Practical Applications of Inclusive Therapy Modalities

  • ACT strategies to create self-compassion
  • LAND: a DBT-inspired framework for selfadvocacy
  • Adaptive strategies to elicit value-based goal setting
  • Address sexuality and romantic relationship challenges
  • Couples’ work – 3 strategies to enhance empathy and communication
  • CBT approaches to support employment and move toward value-based goals

Counselling Autistic Teens
Interventions with a slightly different approach

  • Strategies for family therapy
  • Bully-proofing ACT strategies
  • Play therapy approaches to build resilience
  • Refocus activities to calm the mind storms
  • Talk to kids about their brains
  • Exercises for self-advocacy and self-efficacy
  • Tools to help kids build genuine social connections
  • Case study: Youth Talking Circle

Target Audience

  • Social workers
  • Counsellors
  • Psychologists
  • Psychotherapists
  • Addiction Counsellors
  • Art Therapists
  • Marriage & Family Therapists
  • Behavioral Health Nurses
  • Psychiatrists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Other Mental Health Professionals

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