Autism, ADHD, and Grief
Liam Spicer & Monique Mitchelson
Feedback so far:
“This was fabulous. Thanks so much”
“Thank you both, it was a very informative session”
“Thank you so much! Such a wonderful and informative PD”
“Thank you so much, very informative”
“Thank you so much, very informative and enjoyable”
“This was very helpful”
In this two-hour webinar you will learn about how to support autistic and ADHD clients with grief. The training will cover the key theories, concepts, ways which grief may present differently in Autistic and ADHD individuals, and importantly support strategies. The webinar will also explore important areas such as non-death loss, grief around post-diagnosis and other life changes, and adapted therapies to use when the grief becomes prolonged or complex. It will also include a discussion of case examples.
Learning outcomes include:
• Defining grief, the different forms and its impact
• Models of grief
• Research on Neurodivergence and Grief
• Understanding different grief responses
• Busting neuronormative grief expectations
• Non-death loss, post-diagnosis grief, and pet loss
• Supporting Neurodivergent clients with grief
• Understanding prolonged/traumatic grief
• Therapies to use for prolonged grief including ND affirming EMDR and schema therapy, ACT, & CFT
Liam Spicer
Liam Spicer is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Psychologist, EMDR Consultant and Accredited Schema Therapist based in Lutruwita. Liam is an Autistic ADHDer himself, and is passionate about training, research, and collaboration with other neurodivergent individuals in the Neurodiversity Affirming Space. Liam is actively involved in both training and research in the areas of trauma, grief, neurodivergence, EMDR, and Schema Therapy, delivering workshops across Australia and online to various mental health professionals.
Liam has presented at both International and National conferences including the International Society for Schema Therapy Conference in Europe, the EMDR Asia Conference, two years consecutively at the EMDR Australia Conference, and the Australasian ADHD Professionals Network Conference.
Liam has been a contributor to the Routledge International Handbook of Child and Adolescent Grief and has published in top academic journals such as Frontiers in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Research. Liam’s current PHD at Curtin University, Perth is focused on the use of Schema Therapy for Prolonged Grief, where he has published in the ISST bulletin on this topic.
Liam’s current PhD is focused on the use of Schema Therapy for Prolonged grief, and he has published journal articles and book chapters on grief in addition to presenting at national and international conferences. His interest in this area is derived from both professional and personal lived experience of loss.
Monique Mitchelson:
Monique is an AuDHD’er Clinical Psychologist working in private practice in Brisbane and works with adults in a clinic that specializes in neurodivergence. Monique has an interest in Neurodivergence particularly in women and girls and practices Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy. She cohosts a podcast with Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr Michelle Livock called The Neurodivergent Woman Podcast where they share free quality psychological information on Neurodiversity in Girls and Women. The podcast is in the top 1% of podcasts on Spotify and has over 1 million downloads. Monique is also consulting on the Diagnosis, Supports and Services Committee on the Australian National Autism Strategy and delivers training on Neurodivergence through being Co-Director of the training company Divergent Futures.
Monique practices Neurodiversity Affirming therapy. Neurodiversity Affirming therapy aims to affirm the different neurotype of a neurodivergent person, rather than seeing their neurotype as inherently "bad" or in need of fixing to become neurotypical. It aims for the person to explore their neurodivergent identity and find their own unique strengths. The Neurodiversity Affirming movement comes from the wider social disability movement and is an important therapeutic approach in working with neurodivergent clients. Monique incorporates CFT, ACT, EMDR and aspects of CBT in her practice.