Working with neurodiversity is a key skill requirement for practitioners working with young people. This includes the ability to adapt therapeutic interventions in a way that is meaningful to neurodivergent young people.
In this workshop, leading expert in the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with young neurodivergent individuals, Jodie Wassner, will guide you through some of the key practical strategies and adaptations you can make to ensure your work is fun, flexible and impactful. Through an ACT framework, participants will learn how to promote flexibility in young people and parents via:
- Guiding young people towards a valued and meaningful life in the face of difficulty
- Teaching of flexibility to young people to enable them to handle difficult thoughts and feelings as they emerge
- Enhancing willingness to experience difficulty via cognitive and behavioural techniques
- Recognising the ‘why’ behind a behaviour to help guide adult action with the best chance of success
- Utilising language that promotes better listening and calmer responses
- Celebrating diversity and the strengths that typically accompany neurodivergence
- Recognising best times and best methods for teaching skills through a neuro-affirming lens, with a particular focus on emotional safety and nervous system regulation.
About our presenter: Jodie Wassner
Jodie Wassner is a neurodiversity-affirming Psychologist with Educational and Developmental endorsement, author and speaker, with over 25 years' experience working with young people and their families in Melbourne and Sydney. She divides her professional time equally between clinic work with young people and educational training for health and educational professionals, parents and young people, via local and international workshops, as well as supervision for psychologists and provisional psychologists worldwide.
Jodie's two professional passions are neurodiversity and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Jodie has authored a comprehensive clinician's guide to using ACT with children, with the book including a detailed section on working with neurodivergent kids and teens. Jodie has also co-written a ten-session manual for psychologists working with anxious children using the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
.png)
Webinar timing: 6:30 - 8:00 pm AEDT
Access to the recording of this webinar: A recording of this webinar will be available through the CPD Webinar Library, but for the best experience and the opportunity to ask your questions, join us live. Everyone who registers will be advised via email as soon as the recording is available. Members have unlimited access to the recording, and non-members will have access for 6 months.