Working with Neuroqueer Clients Through Expressive and Relational Practice

6 NBCC-Approved CEs

Live on Zoom

Oct 3 or Nov 7

9-4p PT

Ethics is about more than following a code. It’s about the relationships we create, the assumptions we carry, and whether the people sitting across from us feel safe enough to tell us the truth.

This course explores what ethical practice can become when we understand the quieter ways harm happens through misunderstanding, masking, misattunement, and the assumptions built into traditional models of care.

We’ll examine how masking, sensory experience, intersectional identity, relationship, and creativity reshape ethical decision-making when working with neurodivergent and gender-expansive clients —and how expressive and relational approaches can help them experience therapy as a place where they no longer have to disappear in order to belong.

You’ll leave with practical (and fun!) expressive arts interventions, a deeper understanding of the ethical complexity when working within these populations, and an intersectional clinical lens you can bring directly into your work with neurodivergent and gender-expansive clients.

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Participants will receive:

• 6 NBCC-approved ethics continuing education hours (certificate mailed upon completion of the course)

• Three Expressive Arts Interventions you can use right away

• A downloadable course handout and resource list

• One hour of scheduled breaks throughout the day

The course is taught by Mandy Parida. Mandy is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, expressive arts practitioner, writer, and founder of Different On Purpose.

For more than 25 years, Mandy has worked alongside neurodivergent and gender diverse children, adults, and families across clinical, educational, community, and expressive arts settings. Her work is grounded in the belief that there is more than one way to communicate, regulate, participate, make meaning, and belong.

Expressive arts are central to her practice. Rather than relying only on verbal insight, Mandy uses image, movement, metaphor, play, writing, and other creative processes as ways of accessing experience that may not fit neatly into language. This intermodal approach deeply informs how she thinks about ethics, access, autonomy, relationship, and clinical competence.

Through her work with neurodivergent and gender-expansive clients, Mandy has become increasingly interested in the ethical questions that emerge when traditional clinical expectations are treated as neutral: eye contact, punctuality, compliance, emotional expression, independence, gender norms, professionalism, and even what “progress” is supposed to look like.

Note: Participants will receive 6 continuing education hours and 1 hour of scheduled  breaks

Ethics Beyond the Norm: Working with Neuroqueer Clients Through Expressive and Relational Practice has been approved by NBCC for NBCC credit. Different on Purpose, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. NBCC Approval No. SP-5360.

After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email. A few weeks before the course, you’ll receive the Zoom link, course agenda, and a brief description of everything you’ll need for the day (including suggested art supplies!).