Neurodiversity Week: Autism in DIT
One-day training for DIT practitioners on neuro-affirming autism approaches, therapy adaptations, client engagement, and fostering resilience.
About this training
The day long training in clinical application of DIT in therapeutic work with autistic clients will offer DIT practitioners an opportunity to learn and reflect on current thinking about autism, challenges experienced in engaging autistic clients and therapy adaptations to the therapeutic stance and techniques for autistic clients.
During the morning sessions, participants will learn about neuro-affirming approach to autism and contemporary ideas in conceptualising autism. The content will include material produced by experts in Autism at Anna Freud. In the afternoon sessions, participants will be invited to reflect collectively on the challenges they experience in their attempts to engage autistic clients. This will be followed by a presentation of some suggestions for conducting DIT suitability assessment and for adaptations to the therapeutic stance and technique.
Participants will be invited to think about autistic IPAFs and attachment style; the challenges of creating the “we” mode, epistemic injustice and epistemic mistrust in engagement of autist folk; the adjustment to the technique for increasing autistic clients’ engagement and mentalisation of their relational patterns and their autistic needs to increase psychological resilience, reduce avoidance, autistic burnout and increased joy in relating with the world and others.
Aims of this training
To learn about contemporary conceptualizations of autism.
To reflect on challenges experienced in offering DIT to autistic clients and clients who self-identify.
To consider assessing DIT suitability and adaptations to the therapeutic stance and technique.
To reflect on our professional counter-transference to autistic clients and to the paradigm shift in conceptualising autism.
Who is this training for?
DIT practitioners and trainees.
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Gosia Fijak-Koch is a Counselling Psychologist, DIT and DIT-CC Practitioner, and Supervisor. She currently works in NHS and private practice with groups and individuals. Her experience includes providing therapy for people with complex, severe, and enduring mental health problems. She frequently encounters people with neurodiversity and is interested in adapting psychotherapeutic work to their needs.
Dr Marta Sosnowska is a Clinical Psychologist with specialism in relational and integrative therapeutic interventions for depression, anxiety, emotional regulation, personality disorder, trauma, and neurodivergence. She applies psychodynamic, developmental, and systemic models in therapeutic and organizational work. In her clinical work, she considers issues of culture and intersectionality in personality development and identity formation, relational functioning, and group processes.
Marta worked with Malgorzata Fijak-Koch on the pilot of DIT-CC in 2015-2018 and DIT-CC training development in 2022-2023 led by Dr Amra Rao. She is a DIT-CC practitioner and supervisor. She completed the National Autism Trainer Programme (NATP) in February 2024, and since then, she has been involved in training staff working with autistic clients.
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The training will be delivered by Zoom.
Before booking, please ensure you meet the system requirements.
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Upon booking, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accept our terms and conditions and our privacy notice. Please read these documents before booking:
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