Today an emerging body of research is bringing the female expression of autism into clear focus. Women and girls on the spectrum share the diagnostic traits of their male counterparts and yet diverge by their capacity to mask their social confusion, observing and mimicking their more socially able peers, drawing on their developed language skills to ‘get by’ and finding solace and pleasure in special interests that are less unusual than males, but no less intense.

 

The ‘coping mechanisms’ that women and girls on the spectrum employ come at a high price. The mental energy needed for social interaction, organizing oneself, and constant fear of making a social mistake, can leave them emotionally exhausted and contribute to elevated levels of anxiety, a fragmented sense of self-identity and low self-esteem.

 

Men on the spectrum thrive when offered a compass point that not only affirms their way of being in the world, but also elevates their autistic experience to the dignity it deserves. Taking traits too often described as stubbornness, bluntness and inflexibility, and reframing them as innate qualities of tenacity, forthrightness and stability, opens a conversation that leads to greater self-knowledge and self-awareness, harnessing the necessary qualities needed to succeed in the society in which they live.

 

Receive a programme of teachings and therapies perfectly suited to you, designed for those on the autism spectrum by a therapist on the autism spectrum:

• Reflective Integration Therapy™ offers you a space of welcome and hospitality to personally explore what it means to have autism in a psychotypical world, to gain new levels of personal insight, self-awareness and self-esteem, establishing your unique sense of self in relation to all others.
  
  
• Through the 12 week programme, I will accompany you on a personal journey of self-discovery, and a dialogue of deeper personal meaning that approaches the autistic way of being from a position of health, rather than pathology, opening up new horizons of social, emotional and spiritual growth.
  
  
• Regardless of your personal history and difficulties in life, the essential teachings and engaging therapies will guide you to peace of mind and solid self-esteem, an experience of personal transformation and healing which addresses your whole self - body, mind and spirit.
  
  
• The RIT programme draws on aspects of your natural autistic temperament, including the qualities of silence, stillness and focus: key to unlocking your personal potential.
  
  
• By uniquely tailoring the programme to the autistic experience, your way of being in the world is declared not only an asset, but an advantage, enabling you to connect to your deepest and truest self, confirming your honoured place in society to the benefit of all.
  
  

I work with women and men on the autism spectrum by applying therapies designed to:

• Help you develop a sense of self-identity through a growing sense of self-awareness.
  
  
• Heal the hurts of your past through the gentle exploration of the common history of those on the spectrum.
  
  
• Improve the quality of your relationships by improving the relationship you have with yourself.
  
  
• Build your emotional resilience through the contemplative discipline of meditation.
  
  
• Acknowledge that you are so much more than the sum of your mental processes by honouring your spiritual reality.