New Pathways to
Neurodiversity Affirming Care
A Clinical Training Program
With Lila Low-Beinart
Owner of Divergent Paths Counseling
A transformative learning experience that goes beyond professional development, challenging the pathology paradigm to foster deeper compassion and more effective support for neurodivergent clients.
CEs are in the works!
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Working with neurodivergent clients can present unique challenges—even for seasoned practitioners.
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Traditional therapy training often fails to address the unique needs of neurodivergent individuals.
Given that 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent — a figure comparable to substance use disorders in the U.S. — training on neurodiversity-affirming care should be as essential as substance use disorder treatment.
But right now, most clinicians are left to navigate these complexities without the guidance they need.
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Whether you’re just beginning to learn about neurodiversity or you’re looking to refine and deepen your knowledge, this comprehensive training will equip you with the essential skills to provide truly neurodiversity-affirming therapy.
You’ll move beyond outdated, pathologizing models, embrace a strengths-based framework, and develop the clinical tools needed to cultivate a safe, compassionate, and effective therapeutic environment.
In this training we will...
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Learn foundational principles of neurodiversity-affirming care, moving beyond deficit-based models and cultivating a strengths-oriented approach.
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Explore the intersection of neurodiversity and trauma and recognize the distinct ways trauma impacts neurodivergent individuals and their relationships.
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Adapt your modalities to create truly client-centered, affirming care by learning how to tailor therapy to neurodivergent needs. Let go of a one-size-fits-all approach to align research, clinical expertise, and client values.
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Integrate mindfulness and self-regulation strategies to support your emotional regulation and help you create a safe therapeutic space.​
This training offers more than just knowledge—it provides a transformative perspective that will reshape your approach to therapy.
You’ll gain the confidence and clinical tools to support neurodivergent clients effectively and ethically.
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Because without the right training, we risk missing key aspects of our clients’ experiences—or worse, unintentionally causing harm.
Let’s change that.
Are you prepared to Support Neurodivergent Clients?
That's where this training comes in
Join us in shaping the future of therapy—one that truly affirms and empowers neurodivergent individuals.
What Makes This Course Unique?
This is the first long-form neurodiversity-affirming training of its kind—designed not just to inform, but to transform.
You’ll leave with concrete, immediately usable clinical skills for working with autistic, ADHD, and otherwise neurodivergent clients—grounded in a deeply integrated trauma lens.
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You won’t just sit through lectures; you’ll actively participate, connect, and grow through experiential practices like authentic relating.
And beyond professional development, expect something rarer: personal transformation that changes how you see your clients, your work, and yourself.
WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
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8 training sessions: 10:00am-12:30pm MT every other Friday: June 6th - September 26th
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We will be skipping August 1st​
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Live presentation and discussion
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Optional consult group for integration of clinical work
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20 CEs and Certificate of Completion
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Suggested reading and multimedia resources
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WhatsApp group for asynchronous chat
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Listing on our neurodiversity-affirming therapist directory
This course is for you if...
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You're a mental health practitioner (counselor, social worker, or psychologist) or studying to be one.
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You want to begin working with neurodivergent clients and use neurodiversity affirming therapy right from the start.
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You already work with neurodivergent clients, and want to deepen your capacity to support them.
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You're neurodivergent yourself and want a solid foundation to kickstart your practice, leveraging your unique lived experience.​​
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This course is not a good fit if...
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You're not willing to challenging your own paradigms around ability and "functioning".
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You're not open to transforming yourself as both a person and practitioner.
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You don't have reliable methods to support yourself as your worldview changes.
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You struggle to take in lots of information via live presentations
About Lila Low-Beinart
Lila Low-Beinart, an autistic, gifted, and Highly Sensitive (HSP) psychotherapist and teacher, brings over thirteen years of teaching experience, and is known for evoking profound emotional and cognitive shifts that facilitate meaningful learning and transformation. Her capacity for deep presence, empathy, and insight, honed through over a decade of meditation practice, significantly enriches both her teaching and clinical work.
Her teaching experience spans diverse fields—from pharmaceutical to authentic relating and therapeutic domains—underpinned by four teacher trainings and ongoing professional development at Harvard University's Transforming Health Care Education program, focused on the neuroscience of learning and effective instructional design. This rich background equips her with exceptional skills in group facilitation, communication, and creating engaging and impactful learning environments.
Lila specializes in neurodiversity-affirming care, integrating contemplative, parts-based, and somatic approaches that validate and celebrate neurodivergent ways of being. Her practice is deeply informed by her lived experience, as well as the insights of her clients and neurodivergent colleagues and friends.
Drawing on a previous career as a pharmaceutical chemist, where she authored multiple peer-reviewed studies and taught internationally, Lila also brings a robust analytical perspective to her work.
Unlock Deeper Learning: Your Consult Circle
Imagine a dedicated space where you can delve into challenging cases, get tailored support, and truly integrate neurodiversity-affirming principles into your practice. Alongside the training, Lila's Neurodiversity-Affirming Consult Group offers this focused environment for collaborative growth—but with only 6 spots available, availability is limited.
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This group provides more than just case consultation. Through powerful authentic relating practices, you'll build a supportive peer community for ongoing consultation and referral, while directly addressing unconscious bias through genuine self-awareness and connection.
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Developing this profound inner awareness is crucial for providing effective and attuned support to all neurodivergent clients, and is particularly vital when working with those who are autistic or highly sensitive.
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This is your chance for personalized discussion, in-depth case consultation, and a significant deepening of your clinical skills. Enroll now before it's full!
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Details:
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Dates: 5 sessions on June 27th, July 11th, August 8th, September 5th, & October 3rd
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Time: 10:30am MT, for 1 or 1.25 hours, depending on group size
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Price: $60 per meeting for a total of $300
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Group size: 3-6 members
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Priority enrollment in Lila's ongoing post-training consult group
Here is Everything You'll Learn Inside
New Pathways to
Neurodiversity Affirming Care...
Module One
Shifting From a Pathology to Neurodiversity Paradigm
​​This foundational module sets the stage by exploring the systemic roots of trauma experienced by neurodivergent individuals. We delve into how interconnected systems of oppression and marginalization culminate in ableism. Understanding these systems is crucial for therapists to recognize the external sources of their clients' distress and avoid pathologizing neurodivergent traits.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 Introduction & Overview of the Course
🔹 Tracing Ableism to its Roots
🔹 The Medicalization of Bodies and the Illusion of "Normal"
🔹 The Pathology and Neurodiversity Paradigms
🔹 Types of Neurodivergence & Inclusive Language
🔹 How to increase Self-Awareness to Reduce Bias
Module Two
Recognizing & Understanding Sensory Neurodivergence
This module provides a comprehensive overview of sensory neurodivergence, focusing on autism, ADHD, and giftedness. We examine common misconceptions, masking and camouflaging behaviors, and the importance of strength-based differential diagnosis. Special attention is given to the intersection of neurodivergence with gender, race, and LGBTQIA+ identities. You'll move beyond observing behavior to begin cultivating deeper empathy through understanding the neurodivergent inner world.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 Identifying neurodivergence: an intersectional view
🔹 Neurodivergence from the inside out: lived experience
🔹 Self-diagnosis vs. formal diagnosis: pros and cons
🔹 Recognizing masking (and its impact on mental health)
🔹 Strengths & Challenges of autism, ADHD, & giftedness
Module Three
Key Qualities & Practices of a Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapist
This module focuses on the essential qualities and practices of a neurodiversity-affirming therapist. We explore how traditional therapy can inadvertently harm neurodivergent clients and discuss alternative approaches that prioritize power-sharing, cultural humility, and responsiveness. We will begin to translate these principles into practical clinical skills, focusing on the initial stages of client interaction and assessment.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 Understanding & implementing cultural humility
🔹 Communicating effectively with neurodivergent clients
🔹 Cultivating curiosity about client's sensory experience
🔹 Setting up your therapy space
🔹 Effective first steps with new clients
🔹 Broaching, conflict, & repair
Module Four
Tailoring Therapeutic Approaches for Neurodivergent Clients
This module delves into the process of selecting and tailoring therapeutic approaches for neurodivergent clients. We discuss the importance of client-centered work, attachment-based therapy, and how to adapt therapeutic modalities. We'll address masking, connecting clients with resource, and supporting identity development. We'll also examine evidence-based care, balancing scientific research with clinical expertise and client values.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 Deconstructing evidence-based care
🔹 How to choose what modality(s) will be most helpful
🔹 Client-centered and attachment-informed therapy
🔹 Integrating your therapeutic modalities of choice
🔹 How to help clients unmask
🔹 Neurodivergent identity development
Module Five
Building a Trauma-Informed Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice
This module examines the intersection of neurodiversity and trauma, focusing on the unique trauma experiences of neurodivergent individuals. We discuss the impact of sensory overload, misattunement, social exclusion, and ableist trauma. The module also covers how to recognize signs of trauma in neurodivergent clients and the impact of trauma on attachment and relationships.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 The intersection of neurodivergence & trauma
🔹 Distinguishing between trauma and neurodivergent traits
🔹 The impact of trauma on attachment and relationships
Module Six
Applying Trauma Models to Neurodivergent Clients
This module explores various trauma models and their application to neurodivergent trauma. We discuss the polyvagal theory, the structural dissociation theory, and somatic understandings of trauma, providing practical examples and techniques for working with traumatized neurodivergent clients. Special topics include alexithymia and meltdowns/shutdowns.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 Applying trauma models to neurodivergent clients
🔹 Reframing resistance to reduce therapist burnout
🔹 Working with the 3 different types of alexithymia
🔹 Supporting clients with meltdowns & shutdowns
Module Seven
Fostering Authentic Neurodivergent Relationships
This module explores the landscape of neurodivergent communication and relationships, blending clinical insight with affirming practice. We'll explore how ableism and trauma can shape social experiences, and empower clients to build and nurture authentic connections. The therapeutic relationship is emphasized as a foundational space for safety and affirming support.
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 Affirming relationship psychoeducation for clients
🔹 Creating therapeutic relationship that nurture and heal
🔹 Empowering clients to cultivate authentic connections
🔹 Developing skills in assertiveness & boundary-setting
🔹 Rejection sensitivity dysphoria, demand avoidance, PDA
Module Eight
Integrating Mindfulness, Self-Regulation, and Decolonization
This module integrates mindfulness, self-regulation, and decolonization practices into neurodiversity-affirming therapy. We discuss the importance of contemplative therapy, co-regulation, and ongoing implicit bias work. The module also addresses the unique experiences of neurodivergent therapists and the importance of supervision and support
In this Module, we will explore:
🔹 The power of mindfulness to enhance client relationship
🔹 Collaborative self and co-regulation strategies
🔹 Continuous self-reflection for dismantling implicit bias
🔹 Supporting neurodivergent peers: supervision & beyond
🔹 Summarizing key learnings & conclude this learning path
Please note: content may change as needed
After completing this course you will be able to:
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Integrate foundational principles of neurodiversity-affirming care into your practice
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Recognize potentially unidentified neurodivergent clients in your practice
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Empower neurodivergent clients to build deeper more fulfilling relationships
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Guide clients experiencing alexithymia towards accessing emotions
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Navigate meltdown and shutdowns skillfully and compassionately
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Identify masking and facilitate authentic unmasking
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Understand and support clients with executive function differences
If this course is unaffordable to you, please email trainings@divergentpathscounseling.com to discuss sliding scale options.