Becoming a Neurodivergent-Affirming Clinician: Understanding ADHD and Autism through a Strengths-Based, Neurodivergent-Affirming Lens
2025-08-20 10:00 - 2025-09-24 13:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Becoming a Neurodivergent-Affirming Clinician: Understanding ADHD and Autism through a Strengths-Based, Neurodivergent-Affirming Lens
Presented by: B Lourenco, MA, LMHC
When: This course will be held over six consecutive Wednesdays: August 20 – September 24, 2025

Wednesday, August 20th, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday August 27th, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday September 3rd, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday September 10th, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday September 17th, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday September 24th, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Eastern

Where: Live on Zoom. You will receive your Zoom link/invitation the week of the workshop.
18 CEs (12 CEs can be used for Cultural Competence or Health Equity CEs, and 6 can be used for Law & Ethics CEs) | $599.00 *** (see below for payment options)
As technology progresses and education on mental health becomes increasingly more available, the population has become more self-aware. The world is changing quickly, and with it, more and more people realize that their brain works differently than others. Due to the influence of social media and the shift to focusing on lived experience as a legitimate means of diagnosis, we are seeing a sudden increase in clients that identify as Autistic and/or an ADHDer. We find that clients are speaking up and finding validation of what they have always known: their brains operate differently than the brains of their peers, colleagues, friends, and families. As a result, we are seeing a sudden increase in the young adult and middle-aged population who identify as being Neurodivergent in a Neurotypical world.
This workshop series is designed to help clinicians build greater awareness and familiarity with ADHD and Autistic experiences. Participants will come away from this course with a deeper understanding of ADHD and Autism from the Neurodiversity-Affirming Paradigm that focuses on strengths and differences, not diagnoses, disorders, and deficits.
Especially following the Covid pandemic and its sometimes long-term impact on the brain and the immune system’s inflammatory processes, many clients report having different and often challenging sensory processing experiences. We are seeing more adults presenting in our offices with reports that they now have issues not only with taste and smell but with a range of visual, hearing, tactile, balance, and internal bodily sensations they never have before experienced, as well as difficulties with attention and memory. This begs the question: have these brain differences always been there but now have been sensitized or magnified by exposure to Covid and months-long isolation?
Many adults are now recognizing they are not alone and are demanding they not be dismissed or invalidated any longer, often having experienced the continued frustration of providers questioning their own lived experiences and, as a result, having been either undiagnosed or underdiagnosed due to outdated and debunked diagnostic criteria still used by mainstream psychiatrists and physicians. These individuals are finding validation for what they have suspected all along: their brains work differently than those of their peers, families, and friends.
With new research available and an increasingly empowered clientele, we see more than ever the need to remain current in our understanding of–and support for–those who have brain differences. Committed to blending cutting-edge scientific evidence with the lived experiences of our clients, Cascadia Training, is delighted to offer a new workshop series designed to help clinicians build greater awareness and familiarity with ADHD and Autistic experiences.
Upon completion of this series, participants will have a deeper understanding of ADHD and Autism from the Neurodiversity Affirming Paradigm that focuses on strengths and differences, not disorders, diagnoses, and deficits!
Woven throughout the series are the law and ethics of working with neurodivergent clients, including the danger of misdiagnoses, and the harm of using biased, outdated, debunked diagnostic criteria leading to the under-diagnosis of ADHD and Autism spectrum experiences. In addition, participants will learn about and identify pathologizing, stigmatizing, and harmful treatment protocols and clinical interventions still utilized by providers in educational, physical, and mental health professions.
This series uses a system developed explicitly by B Lourenco, an expert on ADHD and Autism. The course focuses to a large degree on the internal, lived experience of neurodiversity. Each of the six weekly sessions will include a didactic portion, an experiential section, and direct case consultation time. All modules will include lecture, video, and experiential segments.
Certificate Program Weekly Modules:
Week One: Sensory Systems – Getting in touch with the sensory system is the most critical step in supporting neurodivergent clients. Sensory information can regulate emotional and physical experiences. In addition, we will focus on using sensory profiles, menus, and diets to support day-to-day quality of life.
Week Two: Communication and Relationships – Understanding how those with Autism and ADHD communicate creates room for therapeutic connection. With this understanding, we will dive into tools for managing meltdowns and shutdowns in an affirming way.
Week Three: Attending and Executive Function – This module will explain why those with Autism and ADHD face challenges attending to their environment by addressing social expectations on perceptions of “functioning.” You will also learn how to use the client’s natural rhythms to support positive functionality.
Week Four: Social Systems and Disability – Understanding how society directly impacts the lives of people with disabilities. We will focus on how clinicians can incorporate advocacy into their practice and tools to unlearn neurotypical values by connecting clients to personal values.
Week Five: Differentials and Comorbidities – This module will teach participants how to rule out or “dial in” on other mental health concerns or diagnoses. We will present comorbidities that exist with your neurodivergent clients and how to effectively support them in a non-stigmatizing way. The role of trauma and grief in the lived experience of clients who identify as neurodivergent will be discussed, as well as the impact of these events on the developing brain. We will process how to best support the grief and disenfranchised losses felt by our autistic and ADHD clients and their families.
Week Six: The Use of Joy As a Tool Against Oppression. Creating celebrations of being neurodivergent and finding joy in everyday life as we partner with our neurodivergent clients. The Neurodivergent-affirming certificate program series will conclude with various celebrations we can share with our clients and the shift to viewing “joy itself as a tool against oppression.” As clinicians, it is important for us to first comprehend–and then share– the ways that society benefits from neurodiversity in general and ADHD and Autism, in particular. We will conclude by learning ways to help our clients celebrate their neurodiversity and see themselves through an affirming, strengths-based lens.
Other topics that will be covered in this practice- and life-altering certificate program series include, but are not limited to:

Alexithymia and Dysthymia
ARFID
Misophonia
Gender and sexuality in the ADHD and Autistic communities
The role of menstruation on ADHD and Autistic brains
Interdependence vs codependence and/or independence
Myths and stigmas about neurodivergent people
Experiences of abuse in neurodivergent people
Pervasive Desire for Autonomy (PDA)

***Payment Options:
Cascadia Training values quality continuing education that is accessible, inclusive, and without barriers to all. We never want the cost of our workshops to be a barrier to attending one of our workshops, particularly our multi-session workshops.
We offer several options to make our workshops cost-inclusive: payment plans, a limited number of full and partial scholarships, discounts for students, and discounts for early professionals. Please email us at hello@cascadiatraining.org for more information.
For payment plans, you can select paying 50% today and 50% due by September 30, 2025.
REGISTER HERE

The Ethics of Simple Self-Care in Nature
2025-09-19 09:00 - 16:30 | ONE-Olympia, 7400 Gallagher Cove Road NW, Olympia, WA, 98502, United States
Law & Ethics CEs!
The Ethics of Simple Self-Care in Nature
Presented by: Dr. Brenda Butterfield, EdD, MSW, LMHC
When: Friday, September 19, 2025 | 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Pacific Time
Where: Live in person at the ONE Center (7400 Gallagher Cove Road NW, Olympia, WA 98502)
Lodging Options: If you are coming to the area from out of town, several lodging options at reduced rates for Cascadia attendees are available, including staying at the ONE Center. For all lodging accommodation options, please visit the ONE Center website here and email the ONE Center at ournewexperiences@gmail.com.
Continuing Education Credit Hours: 6 Law and Ethics CEs | $199.00
All 2025 Dates for The Ethics of Simple Self-Care in Nature at the ONE Center:

Friday, May 2, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, June 6, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, July 18, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, August 22, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, September 19, 2025: Click here for more info >>>
Friday, October 3, 2025: Click here for more info >>>

This is a nature based workshop in the gardens, forest and by the water, walking slowly (less than 1 mile total) on uneven ground at times, rain or shine.
It is finally here, the opportunity to take time to practice what we preach so often to clients, “Take good care of yourself.” Let us do it together at the beautiful ONE Center on the South Salish Sea just outside Olympia, WA, ONE is an incredibly special place designed just for healthcare providers like you! This day of learning supports OUR health and well-being. Finally, we have full permission to tend to our own health and well-being WHILE earning ethics credits.
This workshop is retreat-style, nature-based, and experiential. We’ll be walking slowly, short distances, and pausing all along the way because we’ve created this workshop for you to experience simple self-care practices to use anywhere and anytime. Some colleagues have come multiple times because this learning feels good, body, mind, and soul, AND because when we’re grounded, we can teach our clients to feel more connected to themselves, each other, nature, and the beyond human world too.
Providing mental health care in the past several years has required more from us than ever before. In addition to significant work-related changes, the added stress from so many daily challenges in our personal lives has been exhausting. Now providing telehealth, it’s common for colleagues to feel isolated and disconnected from others. If you have been running on empty for a while, pushing on to keep meeting the needs of others even though you know you need to pause and rest, you are not alone. Come to ONE for a soft, gentle landing and warm welcome. The ONE Center is a refuge, a sanctuary created specifically for those of us providing care to others. We’re building this community of care by reimagining mental health care, starting with caring for professional care providers. We got your back…we’re here for you.
Quite recently, the National Association of Social Workers updated the NASW Code of Ethics reflecting an ethical imperative to practice self-care. Now, all codes of ethics formally recognize clinician self-care as essential to providing quality care to others. The codes provide mandates to tend to one’s well-being and permit us to do just that through professional development. The Codes of Ethics are in alignment with current research findings indicating the therapist’s psychological health and well-being directly relate to treatment outcomes for clients. Yes, how we show up in the room with clients does indeed matter. Therefore, finding ways to practice caring for oneself is not only a personal responsibility and a gift to oneself, but also an ethical obligation for mental health clinicians. We explore this and so much more during our time together at ONE.
We start the day experiencing Nature Therapy through practices like Sit Spotting, What’s in Motion, and Pleasures of Presence. These practices are influenced by shinrin yoku in Japan and supported by research to decrease anxiety and depression, boost the immune system, and lower blood pressure. Together we experience mindfulness through practices taught in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) including breathing techniques, mindful movement, mindful meditation (sitting and walking), and self-reflective inquiry. From the practice of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) we explore the Self-Compassion Break, Soothing Touch, and Soles of the Feet. All are simple, easy-to-use, effective, evidence-based ways to practice caring for oneself that nourishes body, mind, and soul. The importance of developing a daily self-care practice will be explored along with ways to assess your well-being both in the moment and over time.
We know that practicing self-care improves our health and well-being. As it turns out, self-care benefits not only us but all those around us – including clients, coworkers, and family and friends too. Indeed, it is an essential prerequisite to providing care for others, care that helps them heal.
We hope you come this season of care to pause, drop in, and begin tending to what you need as a human being first and the mental health professional second. Come, like so many others have done, to find solace in the company of colleagues gathering in small groups outside in nature. Come and experience the healing power of the place we call ONE, a nature-based health and wellness center on the shore of the beautiful South Salish Sea. Come, be a part of this community of care.
Objectives
• Explore experientially a variety of ways to practice simple self-care
• Learn about the ethical implications of practicing self-care
• Understand research correlating clinician health and well-being to treatment outcomes for clients
• Assess your current overall health and well-being
• Assess your professional quality of life
• Identify lifestyle choices that are supportive or undermine health and wellbeing
• Develop a realistic action plan for improved health and wellbeing
What attendees of this workshop are saying:
“The beautiful time in nature and SLOWING DOWN! Thank you for curating a safe and nourishing environment to just BE.”
“Where to start! I enjoyed the land! The atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. The experiential approach. The connection to ethics. The opportunities to connect with ourselves and peers. The worksheets for reflection and self-assessment. I loved everything!”
“The beautiful and nurturing environment allowed everyone to feel safe and be vulnerable. I admire the bravery and ability of the other attendees to open up and share their experiences, struggles, and challenges. It helps us all feel less alone.”
“This workshop – and the ONE Center – is truly a gift that every mental health professional should give themselves! Hands down, this is the best continuing education workshop I’ve ever attended.”
REGISTER HERE

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping for Clinicians, Part I
2025-09-19 09:00 - 16:30 | Zoom
Now meets requirements for Law & Ethics CEs!
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Tapping for Clinicians, Part I
Presented by: Shelley White, MA, LMHC
When: Friday, September 19th, 2025 | 9:00 am – 4:30 pm Pacific Time
Where: Live on Zoom. You will receive your Zoom link/invitation the week of the workshop.
Continuing Education Credit Hours: 6 CEs (law & ethics CEs)| $190.00
Emotion Freedom Techniques (EFT) – also known as EFT Tapping – is quickly becoming a widely-accepted and effective evidence-based strategy to reduce emotional distress. Many prominent therapists and psychologists, including trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, use a form of tapping with their clients, and now you can too. This workshop provides you with the introductory skills you need to start using basic tapping techniques. Through observation, lecture, and practice, you will learn the history of tapping and the psychology and science behind its success. You will also learn and practice the basic technique so you will be able to use EFT with your clients immediately.
When treating anxiety, first calm the body. Experts in anxiety treatment agree: First calm the physiological symptoms of anxiety, then work with the mind. EFT Tapping can quickly reduce anxiety sensations in the body. And it’s very easy to teach clients! I often hear from my clients how empowered they feel to self-regulate even after their first session. Come earn 6 CEs and learn this effective self-regulatory tool!
REGISTER HERE
