The Family Journal, Ahead of Print.
For enhanced access to treatment and outcomes, it is imperative that counselors and therapists be aware of and confident in adapting their techniques to the needs of neurodiverse individuals. The shortage of trained professionals and limited training in professional counseling and other mental health support services specific to neurodiverse adults has deprived them of therapy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the challenges of licensed counselors and other licensed mental health providers who work with neurodiverse adults. Ensuring that neurodiverse adults receive appropriate socio-psychological assistance and competent services from licensed counselors requires a proper understanding of the current challenges that these professionals face. Findings from an instrumental case study comprising individual open-ended interviews to investigate the challenges faced by five licensed counselors and other licensed mental health providers who work with neurodivergent clients were analyzed in a thematic fashion and are presented herein. This instrumental case study identified concerns that were built on existing knowledge that allowed adaptation to and evolution within new cultural norms that characterize neurodiversity, which should be treated as a cultural difference and not “a less than” or “more than” condition. The evidence provided in this thematic analysis is connected to social emotional learning, universal design for learning, universal design, and social learning theories that have significant implications for practitioners.