Neurodivergent therapist interviews at The Neurodivergent Collective in Orange County, CA focus on inclusive and affirming mental health care topics designed for ADHD and autistic adults.
INTERVIEWS
RESHAPING THERAPY FOR NEURODIVERGENT ADULTS IN 2025
DR. KRISTEN ZALESKI, PHD, LCSW | CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER
“I feel like we need to shout from the rooftops to therapists across the nation that when you have the biology in front of you that might not be neurotypical, we need to be a bit more creative in how we’re healing them.”
AUTISM COMMUNICATION + THE DOUBLE EMPATHY PROBLEM
DR. TONY MEINERS, PSYD | CLINICAL DIRECTOR
“The issue is the expectation that neurotypical people have on how autistic people show up in this world. And as soon as you kind of take that expectation off of the neurodivergent folks and kind of put it back on neurotypical people as well, then you kind of really start to switch what the problem is here.”
THE IMPACT OF NEURODIVERGENT SHAME
ALICIA MARIE HUTTON, MS, LMFT, ACRPS | CLINICAL THERAPIST
“When someone experiences that amount of shame over a lifetime, it impacts their job, school, relationships. They often avoid doing things where they feel like they will fail because in their mind, I am a failure.”
WHAT IS AFFIRMING CARE?
DR. JOEL SCHWARTZ, PSYD | NEURODIVERGENT PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTANT
“An affirming perspective starts with acceptance of the person in front of you.”
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS + OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SUPPORT
DR. HANA KHAN, OTD, OTR/L, CCTP | CLINICAL OCCUPATUIONAL THERAPIST
“My focus is to really build those skills through… capitalizing on our brain’s ability to learn patterns.”
ADAPTING INTUITIVE EATING FOR NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE
SASHA SILVER, RDN
“…this interceptive awareness is a little more challenging to get to. So we have to change some of these principles and the way that we look, understand, and practice Intuitive Eating.”
PROPRIOSEPTIVE AWARENESS
HADLEY VARGAS, MSOT, OTR/L | CLINICAL OCCUPATUIONAL THERAPIST
“…someone who is seeking proprioceptive input would like weight on them, or would like feedback through their joints, because it gives them more awareness.”
THERAPEUTIC INSIGHTS WHEN PLAYING DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
DIADRA SMITH, ACSW | GROUP THERAPIST
“…what happens when they come out on the other side? Do you want to continue with this character and another play through?“
ADDRESSING TRAUMA TO SUPPORT COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING
DR. JULIE DEVITO | CONSULTING PSYCHOLOGIST + INTEGRATIVE HEALTH COACH
“When we talk about executive functioning, that’s the cognitive part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, which manages decision making, and organization that oftentimes…”
SUICIDAL OCD: INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, COMPULSIONS + TREATMENT
DR. SARAH SCHALL, PSYD | CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
“I found that a lot of people don’t know that there is actually a theme of OCD called suicidal OCD, and it is different than suicidal ideation.”
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