March/April 2025: The New Autism: Understanding PDA, High-Masking Clients, and Neurodivergent Burnout

This issue examines how therapists can best assist their neurodivergent clients, many of whom are grappling with a later-life autism diagnosis and struggling with a combination of invalidation, isolation, and trauma. Articles seek to expand our understanding of the wide spectrum of neurodivergence as well as the complex, vulnerable nervous systems at stake, in part since the standard approaches to mental health care are designed from within a neurotypical framework. Specifically, articles cover how to better identify, help, and support neurodiverse partners in couples therapy, how to support families with children who are Pathologically Demand Avoidant by unlearning our behaviorist mindset, and the importance of validation when working with Autistic teenage clients. Other articles cover how to best help clients who struggle with identity in light of belonging to two cultures, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy approaches to working with a stuck client, and an interview with psychologist and author Jonathan Stea.