Becoming a Neurodivergent-Affirming Clinician: Understanding ADHD and Autism through a Strengths-Based, Neurodivergent-Affirming Lens
2026-02-04 10:00 - 2026-03-11 13:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Law & Ethics, Health Equity,
and Cultural Competence CEs!
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 for six consecutive Wednesdays: February 4th through March 11th, 2026, from 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern

Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday, February 11th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday, February 25th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday, March 4th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern
Wednesday, March 11th, 2026 | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm Pacific / 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern

Where: Live on Zoom. You will receive your Zoom link/invitation the week of the event.
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 on March 31, 2026.
REGISTER HERE

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with the ONE Center Winter 2026
2026-02-23 18:30 - 2026-04-13 21:00
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with the ONE Center Winter 2026
NOTE: This is a ONE Center workshop. For all questions, please visit the ONE Center website here and email the ONE Center at ournewexperiences@gmail.com.
Presented by: Dr. Brenda Butterfield, EdD, MSW, LMHC
When: 8 weeks on Monday evenings, beginning Monday, February 23rd through Monday, April 13th from 6:30 – 9:00PM Pacific Standard Time. The day retreat (also offered online or in-person) will be Saturday, April 4th, 2026, from 9:00AM – 3:00PM
REGISTER BY 5pm on Monday, February 16th, 2026 on the ONE Center website here.
Where: Live via Zoom or in person at the ONE Center (7400 Gallagher Cove Road NW, Olympia, WA 98502)
Continuing Education Credit Hours: Up to 26 CEs | Sliding Scale ($395.00 – $575.00)
“I’m ready to be done worrying and feeling stressed out all the time.”
“I want more peace of mind.”
“I suffer from chronic pain and I want to learn how to manage it better.”
If any of these sound familiar, you may be ready for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). This scientifically proven program, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, has been shown to reduce stress, decrease chronic pain, and increase personal well-being.
Dr. Butterfield offers the MBSR course 2 times a year: Fall and Winter.
MBSR Winter 2026 will meet for 8 weeks on Monday evenings, either in-person or online, from 6:30 – 9:00PM Pacific Standard Time from February 23rd to April 13th. The day retreat (also hybrid) will be Saturday, April 4th, 2026 from 9:00AM – 3:00PM.
About the MBSR Course
In this 8-week MBSR course, you’ll practice techniques and develop skills based on the latest neuroscience to effectively manage and reduce stress. Research findings indicate that when practiced regularly, skills developed in this course can literally rewire the brain, resulting in improved health and overall well-being.
Routinely living life on automatic pilot, being unaware of how stressed out we are, does not serve us well. Our body, mind, and soul pay an increasingly high price indicated by symptoms of compromised physical, mental, emotional, and psychological health.
Scientifically-proven benefits of MBSR include:

Lowered stress levels

Reduced chronic pain (back pain, headaches, hypertension, etc.)

Decreased worry, anxiety, and depression

Fewer sleep problems

Improved emotional regulation

Sharpened mental focus and enhanced attention

Improved immune system functioning

Help with life-threatening medical illnesses

More satisfying relationships

Better ability to cope with grief and loss

Support for recovery from substance abuse

Increased joy, resilience, and compassion

In the MBSR course you will learn meditation practices to develop mindfulness, also referred to as present moment awareness. Through instruction and daily practice you will develop a capacity to notice when you’re stressed out and learn skills for how to take better care of yourself, minimizing the negative effect of stress in the moment and experiencing greater well-being.
The MBSR class offers instruction in:

mindfulness meditation (sitting and walking)

body awareness

mindful yoga and

self-reflective inquiry

You’ll be supported throughout the program to develop your own mindfulness practice to sustain you long after this class ends.
MBSR Course Details
Sessions: This class consists of 8 class sessions, a 6-hour retreat, and daily home practices. Instruction materials for the class are emailed or sent via US Post.
FEE & REGISTRATION
​Tuition for the class is offered on a sliding fee scale based on what you can pay. (Reduced fee $395, Full fee $450, Supporting fee $500). Professionals can earn up to 26 Continuing Education Credits: Please add an additional $75 fee to your tuition if earning CE Credits (therapists, counselors, social workers, RNs, CDPs, NDs, translators, and WA court interpreters).​

Reduced fee $395 + $75 CE credits = $470

Full fee $450 + $75 CE credits = $525

Supporting fee $500 + $75 = $575

About Your MBSR Instructor
This course is taught by Dr. Brenda S. Butterfield, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Doctorate of Education, Master of Social Work, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Founder of Our New Experience, LLC. Learn more about Dr. Butterfield »
REGISTER HERE
