Why I Named My Private Practice "My Autistic Therapist"

I had avoided starting my private practice for many years because I knew that it would be hard for me. Because everything has been hard for me. I’ve lived my whole life unaccommodated and feeling like an outsider. Not only did I feel like an outsider, I was treated like one. I was never promoted, always viewed as smart but kept at a distance. People didn’t “get” me and I noticed. I didn’t get them either but at least I tried, I mean I had to try for my survival.

When I opened up my private practice, I specialized in perinatal therapy. It seemed fitting as I had just had my second baby and being a parent felt like it broke me wide open and caused me to face aspects of myself that I could no longer hide. It was also when I learned that I was probably autistic… and a whole host of other things. 

The reality is that if I had never figured out I was autistic, I am not sure if I could’ve successfully run a private practice. Sure, I was passionate about perinatal mental health but I was working with allistic clients and it didn’t come naturally to me. Marketing was hard too. I cannot simply go to doctor’s offices and start up chit chat and give out my business cards. I’m sure I could’ve forced myself but even if I did, they would’ve sensed something was off about me as everyone eventually does especially after so many burnouts, I can’t mask as well as I could before.

Learning I was autistic changed my whole perspective on private practice and what I have to offer. Instead of pushing myself to mask as I had done my entire life, what if I did the exact opposite? What if I created a business that, by its very name, is part of my unmasking process?

I see patterns in everything and one pattern I have always noticed is the hero’s journey. I knew that learning I was autistic was the “death” and rebirth part of the journey. If I wanted to reach my fullest potential, I would need to lean into who I truly am, the person I have been hiding my whole life. Thus, My Autistic Therapist was born, I changed my private practice name, stopped accepting allistic clients and never looked back. 

And what’s particularly beautiful about all of this is this is exactly what I help my clients do. So it’s a parallel process, if you will. The more I grow, heal, and unapologetically embody my true nature, the more I am modeling this for my clients.