Continuing EducationNBCC accredited courses for licensed mental health professionals — including counselors, therapists, and social workers — who want to increase their competence in working with neurodivergent and gender-expansive populations.
Whether you're new to this work or looking to deepen an existing practice, this training meets you where you are.
Continuing Education Site Coming Soon!The Different on Purpose Continuing Education site is under construction and will be available for registration by June 30th, 2026. We look forward to meeting you!
Please join our mailing list below to be notified when the site is up and running. And scroll down to check out our CE FAQs.
Stay ConnectedCE courses will be added to our offerings throughout the year. Join our CE mailing list and get notified when new courses are added.
Continuing Education FAQsWho is Different on Purpose Continuing Education training for?
Licensed mental health professionals — including counselors, therapists, and social workers — who want to increase their competence in working with neurodivergent and gender-expansive populations. Whether you're new to this work or looking to deepen an existing practice, this training meets you where you are.
What will I learn?
Our first course — Ethics Beyond the Norm: Working with Neuroqueer Clients Through Expressive and Relational Practice — is a 6-hour live online continuing education training for licensed mental health professionals. It provides an intersectional clinical framework for working with neurodivergent and gender-expansive clients, with practical expressive arts interventions you can bring directly into your practice.
Over 6 hours you'll explore how overlapping identities, masking, and systemic influences affect clinical presentation, identity development, and mental health. You'll examine how expressive arts interventions support regulation, nonverbal processing, and therapeutic engagement — and you'll leave with at least three concrete interventions you can adapt for your own clients. The training also addresses scope of competence, ethical considerations, and culturally responsive practice throughout.
Is this NBCC approved?
Yes! This program has been approved for six credit hours by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).
When is it offered?
Our first CE offering, Ethics Beyond the Norm: Working with Neuroqueer Clients through Expressive and Relational Practice (6 CE Hours), is scheduled for:
Oct 3rd, 2026, 9a-4p Pacific
Nov 7th, 2026, 9a-4p Pacific
You can view additional information about the content and agenda, and register for our courses, on our CE page.
Who is the presenter?
Mandy Parida, MM, MA, LMHC — licensed mental health counselor and expressive arts therapist with decades of experience working with neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ individuals across developmental stages. Mandy has been in private practice since 2014 and is the Founder of Different on Purpose. Trained in psychodrama and sociometry through the Zerka T. Moreno Foundation and certified in existential psychotherapy through the Institute of Existential Psychotherapy.
Will this be available as a recorded course after the live session?
Yes — recorded versions of continuing education content will be available through our Thinkific platform following the live offering. Join the mailing list on our CE page to be notified when recordings become available.
How do I register?
You can view additional information about our course offering, and register for our courses, on our CE page.