Best Practice when supporting Autistic Clients
Our "live" interactive online training course offers a total of 14 CPD hours, with a CPD certificate on completion, and is presented over 4 separate morning workshops. We do not record our training as we prefer to create an environment in which delegates can feel at ease to ask questions and freely interact with colleagues and trainers.
Who is this Course for?
The course is suitable for Counsellors, Psychotherapists, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrists and General Practitioners. The training is also ideal for mental health advisors and support workers, as they regularly come into contact with neurodivergent service users and have not always received sufficient training to adequately support them.
Modules 1 & 2 of this course provide you with a deep understanding of autism through the lens of autistic individuals and the theoretical and experiential reflections of specialist autism counsellors. It is essential to cover the information before moving on to the case study work and therapeutic interventions in modules 3 & 4. All modules are interactive and we offer small break-out rooms for those wishing to discuss case studies.
A unique part of our training is the live Question Time Panel in Module 2, which has proven to be highly informative due to the panel sharing their lived experience and answering any specific questions you may have.
The difficulties autistic people have processing emotions can be related to internalising problems such as anxiety, depression, excessive rumination and somatic complaints. These are themes which recurrently arise within our therapeutic work and are covered in detail within our courses.
This highly successful course provides a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by autistic people within the following areas :-
- Social Behaviour
- Communication
- Cognitive Differences
- Sensory Issues
We will take a detailed look at a range of mental health difficulties which autistic people are often susceptible to and explore simple strategies to improve wellbeing and enable individuals to live a more balanced and satisfying life. Guidance will be provided on how to address some of the daily challenges people encounter.
The course also looks at the different ways in which autism presents within women and girls and highlights the co-associated conditions which can accompany autism.
Testimonials
Face to Face Training
"I have worked in FE for 13 years and can honestly say this was the most interesting, informative and enjoyable CPD session I have ever done!"
Lecturer & Parent
Online Training
"Thank you the course has been so helpful, affirmed a lot of what I am doing, but also lots to think about. Also a wonderful group."
"Thank you Ruth and Deborah. Great course! Please keep me abreast of training and you webinars. This has really helped me."
"The trainers’ knowledge and personal experiences were conveyed in an easy to understand manner. In my opinion this was invaluable training for me, both professionally as a lecturer and personally as a parent of a child who has a neurological disorder”.
Question Time Panel
A feature which is unique to our training and has proved tremendously popular with delegates is our 'live' ‘Question Time’ session. Our guest panel of autistic and AuDHD adults answer our delegates’ questions and share successful strategies which have helped them to achieve improvements in their own quality of life and mental health. They also discuss some of the daily challenges they face in different areas of the lives, as well as things they value about their neurodiversity.
The Question Time Panel is a feature which is included within all Aspire's training courses, providing a great opportunity to hear first hand what it is like to be neurodivergent.
Modules 3 & 4 provide a wealth of creative tools and strategies to be used when counselling or supporting autistic people. The training explores alternative ways of working which will enable practitioners to work more confidently and flexibly with this client group. A solution-focused approach is taken, using case study work and insights gained from the trainers’ own clinical practice. The delegates will be introduced to a range of useful books, sensory items and a products which can be extremely helpful when working with clients who may find it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings.
Working with people who are on the Autistic Spectrum can be extremely interesting and rewarding if providers of services feel sufficiently informed and confident to engage with this client group. Our consultancy offers courses for individual therapists booking independently and also delivers in-house bespoke training to a range of organisations.
Who Delivers the Training?
The Course is presented by Deborah Wortman and Ruth Williams who are Psychotherapists and Directors of Aspire Autism Consultancy, together with neurodivergent colleagues who deliver sections of this training. Ruth and Deborah's experience of supporting autistic individuals spans over many years and as well as developing extensive professional knowledge, they have first-hand personal experience of living within families of mixed neurotypes, some of whom are diagnosed with autism and co-associated conditions such as ADHD.
Benefits of Online Training
This course is interactive for those who wish to ask questions and participate. Some delegates may prefer to attend ‘discreetly’ and turn their camera facility off. If they wish they can ask the trainers or panel members questions anonymously by typing these into the ‘chat room’ facility. However, in Parts 3 & 4 there will be some case study work in small break out rooms and so we do encourage cameras to be on for this part.
Since adapting our training to an online platform, we can now welcome international delegates and some of the feedback from our previous online training is available below.
Details
This course offers a total of 14 hours CPD and is currently being offered online via Zoom and is being delivered as 4 separate morning webinars.
The 2024 dates are as follows:
Day 1 - Friday, 8th November 2024
Day 2 - Saturday, 9th November 2024
Day 3 - Friday, 15th November 2024
Day 4 - Saturday, 16th November 2024
Times: 9.30 am – 1.00 pm each day
Cost: £340 for all 4 modules
You may also be interested in attending, "ADHD in the Therapy Room", which enables practitioners to learn how to best support their ADHD clients, as well as recognising 'how' and 'when' it may be important to refer individuals for diagnosis and treatment. If you would like to learn more about supporting clients who are in neurodivergent relationships, we offer a course called "Working with Neurodivergent Couples in Therapy".
This two-day course will supplement your couples counselling training, enabling you to support relationships where one or both partners may be Autistic or have ADHD. The course is also suitable for practitioners who support 'individual' clients to navigate neurodivergent relationships, as they will gain insights and learn of strategies which can assist their clients.
Information and booking details for all of our courses can be found in the 'Training' section of our website, which can be accessed from the navigation bar.