Counseling Autistic Clients Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Ali Cunningham Abbott; Amy Geissler

Counseling Autistic Clients Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Ali Cunningham Abbott
, Amy Geissler

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Lynn University

Research output: Contribution to conference › Conference session

Abstract

Autistic and neurodivergent people experience sociocultural trauma specific to their lived experience (Peterson et al., 2019). Due to neurodevelopmental differences, neurodivergent children can be relentlessly bullied by peers, teachers, family members and more (Hwang et al., 2019). Adults can be excluded from employment or educational opportunities and loved ones blamed for the kinds of therapies they seek out for their family members (Britto, 2020; Moore, 2020). These identity-based traumas are important for clinicians to understand, assess and treat from an autistic-affirming approach and trauma-informed practices.

Original language	American English
State	Published - Jun 13 2025
Event	Florida Counseling Association's 2025 Virtual Traumatology Symposium: Healing Fractured Identities: Advancing Mental Health, Social Justice and Self-Empowerment in the Face of Inequity - Virtual, United States Duration: Jun 13 2025 → Jun 13 2025

Symposium

Symposium	Florida Counseling Association's 2025 Virtual Traumatology Symposium
Country/Territory	United States
Period	6/13/25 → 6/13/25

Bibliographical note

Ali Cunningham Abbott, PhD, LMHC, QS
Amy Geissler, M.S.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

http://spiral.lynn.edu/facpubs/2105

Cite this

@conference{f09156e5636f464689a409ef67fa2f0c,

title = "Counseling Autistic Clients Through a Trauma-Informed Lens",

abstract = "Autistic and neurodivergent people experience sociocultural trauma specific to their lived experience (Peterson et al., 2019). Due to neurodevelopmental differences, neurodivergent children can be relentlessly bullied by peers, teachers, family members and more (Hwang et al., 2019). Adults can be excluded from employment or educational opportunities and loved ones blamed for the kinds of therapies they seek out for their family members (Britto, 2020; Moore, 2020). These identity-based traumas are important for clinicians to understand, assess and treat from an autistic-affirming approach and trauma-informed practices.",

author = "\{Cunningham Abbott\}, Ali and Amy Geissler",

note = "Ali Cunningham Abbott, PhD, LMHC, QS Amy Geissler, M.S.; Florida Counseling Association's 2025 Virtual Traumatology Symposium : Healing Fractured Identities: Advancing Mental Health, Social Justice and Self-Empowerment in the Face of Inequity ; Conference date: 13-06-2025 Through 13-06-2025",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "13",

language = "American English",

}

TY - CONF

T1 - Counseling Autistic Clients Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

AU - Cunningham Abbott, Ali

AU - Geissler, Amy

N1 - Ali Cunningham Abbott, PhD, LMHC, QS Amy Geissler, M.S.

PY - 2025/6/13

Y1 - 2025/6/13

N2 - Autistic and neurodivergent people experience sociocultural trauma specific to their lived experience (Peterson et al., 2019). Due to neurodevelopmental differences, neurodivergent children can be relentlessly bullied by peers, teachers, family members and more (Hwang et al., 2019). Adults can be excluded from employment or educational opportunities and loved ones blamed for the kinds of therapies they seek out for their family members (Britto, 2020; Moore, 2020). These identity-based traumas are important for clinicians to understand, assess and treat from an autistic-affirming approach and trauma-informed practices.

AB - Autistic and neurodivergent people experience sociocultural trauma specific to their lived experience (Peterson et al., 2019). Due to neurodevelopmental differences, neurodivergent children can be relentlessly bullied by peers, teachers, family members and more (Hwang et al., 2019). Adults can be excluded from employment or educational opportunities and loved ones blamed for the kinds of therapies they seek out for their family members (Britto, 2020; Moore, 2020). These identity-based traumas are important for clinicians to understand, assess and treat from an autistic-affirming approach and trauma-informed practices.

M3 - Conference session

T2 - Florida Counseling Association's 2025 Virtual Traumatology Symposium

Y2 - 13 June 2025 through 13 June 2025

ER -