Neurodiversity: Treatment Considerations and Strategies to Improve Outcomes
This event is presented by Janie Hong, Ph.D.
Please plan to login by 11:40 am to check-in. We will start promptly at 11:45 am: PLEASE NOTE THE 11:45 AM START TIME
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL/TARGET AUDIENCE: This event is well-suited for clinicians seeking to advance their clinical skills (e.g., case formulation, treatment planning, interventions) in treating neurodivergent individuals. Although not required, having familiarity with existing CBT models and treatments will enhance the learning. Clinicians seeking to increase their skill in incorporating diversity factors, in general, into their practice will also benefit from this presentation.
In recent years, there has been a call to shift away from seeing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders as illnesses to be treated to normalcy. Instead, using a neurodiversity framework, clinicians are asked to see ASD-related differences, despite being in the minority, as part of natural human variation, much in the same way that humans vary by race, sexual orientation, or even handedness. According to this framework, the distress experienced by neurodivergent individuals isbetter explained by difficulties navigating majority norms.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) includes assumptions about what thoughts and behaviors are indicative of healthy functioning and provide strategies to achieve this. These assumptions are, however, based on the same majority norms neurodivergent individuals often struggle to meet. Clinicians who rely on disorder-based CBT protocols and fail to consider neurodiversity, risk further reinforcing beliefs that well-being depends on the ability to conform and mask unwanted differences.
How, then, can clinicians help neurodivergent individuals thrive in a world not designed for them? Using CBT-based principles, Dr. Hong will present ways to adapt existing treatments and improve outcomes. The workshop will emphasize practical, concrete strategies and invite interactive discussion from the audience to inform concepts presented. Although the workshop focuses on autism, Dr. Hong will also describe case examples related to ADHD and other neurodiversity-related differences.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify at least 2 ways neurodiversity related differences can shift the case formulation
2. Describe at least 2 ways the psychotherapy context may be a poor fit for autistic individuals and identify ways to adapt care to improve the context
3. Demonstrate understanding of how existing CBT formulations may be limited and describe how to incorporate known autism-related differences into the formulation
4. Describe ways to explain neurodiversity-related differences to family members and loved ones.
Presenter
Janie Hong, Ph.D (she/her) is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Anxiety and Depression Adult Psychological Treatment (ADAPT) Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. The ADAPT Clinic is the largest psychotherapy-focused clinic at Stanford and houses three large clinical programs, which include evidence-based care for mood and anxiety disorders, OCD and its related disorders, and neurodivergent individuals (ADHD program, Autism program). At Stanford, she leads clinical and trainee programming and oversees care within the ADAPT Clinic, supervises and teaches postdoctoral fellows and psychiatry residents, and provides individual patient care within the neurodiversity program.
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