It’s so wonderful that our field has developed a trauma-lens but, I think it’s vital that we cultivate a neurodiversity-affirming lens as well.
Before discovering my own innate neurodivergence, I chalked everything I thought was “wrong” with me to my trauma history and the resulting symptoms of depression and anxiety that are often co-occurring. And that didn’t happen on my own, it was backed by every therapist I saw and every training program I completed that focused on trauma only to explain my differences.
I’ve since learned that I wasn’t alone. it is believed that there is a high likelihood that many of the folks who are in therapy as long term clients are possibly undiagnosed, high-masking neurodivergent folks. This is especially true for women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and other minorities whose neurodiversity has not been studied or represented accurately. These folks are likely being treated for trauma only, when some aspects of what they are seeking therapy for unbeknownst to both them and their therapist, is actually their unidentified innate neurodiversity.
Let’s continue to heal trauma, but let’s also explore neurodiversity.
Here are some resources to explore:
Overlapping Autism and CPTSD
Sensory differences
Camouflaging/ high-masking autism in women
Strengths-based criteria
