Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy Training for Working with Autistic, ADHD & Gifted Adults
Neurodiversity CPD for Counsellors & Psychotherapists
On late diagnosis, giftedness, and working well with neurodivergent adults
A significant portion of any therapy caseload is neurodivergent today: autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, or gifted, whether the client arrives with the words for it or not.
This CPD is built for that exact work. Not neurodiversity as an abstract topic to be aware of, but the practical difference it makes in the therapy room: how someone can mask their way through a whole session, why a standard reflective silence might land as an overwhelming demand, and what changes when you stop reading intensity as something to treat.
Training Structure: A Two-Part Approach
Part 1: Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice for Counsellors, Foundations
Format | Live 2.5-Hour Workshop (Online via Zoom) |
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Who It Is For | Trainee and qualified counsellors across all therapeutic modalities (Integrative, Person-Centred, Psychodynamic, CBT, and systemic). |
Fees | Full rate: £50, Early-bird rate: £42 |
Maps the shift from a medical deficit view to neuro-affirming practice. Designed as an accessible standalone workshop, it delivers immediate adaptations you can experiment with in your very next session. While the principles apply across the entire neurodivergence spectrum, this foundational session focuses specifically on Autism, ADHD, and AuDHD. Core focus areas include:
- Vocabulary & Paradigm Shift: Moving from deficit checklists and medical models to precise and affirming neurodiversity frameworks.
- Understanding Individual Presentation: Recognising why "functioning" cannot be read from observable behavior alone, and being aware of hidden autistic and ADHD masking.
- Practical Modality-Neutral Tools: Applying adaptable, practical techniques that fit naturally within your existing therapeutic approach.
- Ethical & Relational Considerations: Navigating power, consent, and the impact of standard therapeutic interventions (like reflective silences) on neurodivergent minds.
Upcoming Cohorts:
- Monday 7th September 2026 — FULLY BOOKED
- Wednesday 9th September 2026 — FULLY BOOKED
Join the waitlist below to be notified first when the next dates open.
Part 2: Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice for Counsellors, Late Diagnosis, Giftedness and Trauma
Format | Full-Day Workshop (Online) |
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Fees | Full rate: £120, Early-bird rate: £100 (up to4 weeks before date), Ratcliff & Brown rate: £85 |
Overview
Part 1 was where we set out the ideas and the method, tried some adjustments, and worked a couple of cases together. Part 2 gives all of that a full day of its own: the same method, more knowledge, more practice, and more time on the situations that are genuinely harder to read.
We spend the day with what people often bring with them, and give proper room to the parts Part 1 could only touch on. The grief that can come with being recognised late. The tiredness that sits under masking, and the burnout that builds when someone has held it all together for years. AuDHD, and why it is more than autism and ADHD side by side. Giftedness and twice-exceptionality, which get missed so often that many gifted people never find a counsellor who thinks to ask. And the overlap between neurodivergence and trauma, which is genuinely easy to get wrong and worth taking our time over.
It is a hands-on day, and a talkative one. We work through two new case studies together, and Ask, Adjust, Attend gets additional practice. One thing runs underneath all of it: we are not here to diagnose. We are here to understand someone well enough to help, and to know when to point them elsewhere. The group is small so there is room for your questions.
One thing before you book
Part 2 follows on from Part 1, Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice for Counsellors, Foundations so that is the one to have done first. We build the shared language and the Ask, Adjust, Attend method there, and this day carries straight on from them, so it will make much more sense with Part 1 behind you.
What you will be able to do afterwards
By the end of the day, you will be able to:
- Recognise and respond to the grief, masking, burnout and rejection sensitivity many late-identified adults bring to counselling.
- Explain how autistic and ADHD traits combine in AuDHD, and why the picture is more than the sum of its parts.
- Recognise giftedness and twice-exceptionality, and the ways they can hide or complicate what you see.
- Work with the overlap between neurodivergence and trauma without rushing to pull the two apart.
- Receive a client's disclosure, or their questioning, well, without confirming, diagnosing or steering.
- Use Ask, Adjust, Attend with real presentations, through two worked case studies.
- Look after your own footing, your boundaries and your energy, and know when to bring something to supervision or refer on.
What you go home with
You will not need to write everything down as we go. Everyone leaves with the full slides, a handout that gathers the day's ideas and all its sources in one place to come back to whenever you like, and a certificate at the end. It counts as verifiable CPD.
How the day runs
- A full day, online and live, ten till four, with a proper lunch break and two shorter ones.
Next Upcoming Date:
- Tuesday 6th October 2026
Clinical Framework & Lived Experience
Specialised Training
Facilitated by a practitioner trained through InterGifted, focusing specifically on the psychology, emotional intensity, and relational dynamics of gifted and twice-exceptional adults.
Lived Experience & Affirming Practice
Built from lived experience with late identification, ensuring consent, collaboration, and safety are embedded as the core method rather than external adjustments added to a client.
Professional Accreditation & Delivery
Both parts meet NCPS and BACP CPD requirements, complete with explicit learning outcomes, structured reflective practice, and embedded safeguarding protocols.
Delivered live and online in English or French.
Rates
- Neurodiversity CPD Part 1 (2.5 Hours): £50 per participant
- Early-bird rate: £42 per participants
- Neurodiversity CPD Part 2 (Full Day): £120 per participant
- Early-bird rate: £100 per participant
- Neurodiversity CPD Two-Part Bundle: £140 per participant
Private Practice / Agency Group Bookings
Available for counselling services, NHS talking therapy teams, and group practices looking to train their full team together. Recommended group size: 12 to 16 participants, due to the participatory nature of the training.
Featured Practitioner Tool: The Map of My Own Mind
A practical clinical tool you can use immediately: The Map of My Own Mind. This framework maps eight everyday dimensions that every mind sits somewhere on, requiring no formal score and no official diagnosis. It functions as a client handout or a self-reflection exercise, offering a gentle, non-pathologising way into the conversation with a client who has never been asked how their mind actually operates.