Session C9
Tracks
Stream C (Level 1)
| Sunday, May 18, 2025 |
| 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM |
| Room 7 | BLUE (Level 1) |
Overview
Unpacking and Addressing Internalised Ableism towards Autistic Individuals: A Collaborative Self-Reflective Session | Liam Spicer, Monique Mitchelson (60 mins)
Presenter
Ms Monique Mitchelson
Divergent Futures
Unpacking and Addressing Internalised Ableism towards Autistic Individuals: A Collaborative Self-Reflective Session
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM.....
Monique is an Autistic and ADHD Clinical Psychologist working in private practice, consulting, training and media. Monique has consulted on the National Autism Strategy and is Co-Director of Divergent Futures which offers Neurodiversity Affirming training for mental health professionals.
Monique co-hosts The Neurodivergent Woman Podcast, an Australian podcast with 1.5 million downloads that centres and showcases neurodivergent women from all walks as life. Together with Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr Michelle Livock, they combine clinical expertise with lived experience, aiming to provide free quality psychological information, whilst centring the voices of AFAB neurodivergent individuals.
Monique also has teamed up with Jennifer Kemp to co-author "The Neurodivergence Skills Workbook for Autism and ADHD” by New Harbinger. This book features a foreword by Sonny Jane Wise and has become a #1 bestseller on Amazon in the Autism category.
Monique practices Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy along with Compassion Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Structural Dissociation Therapy. Her interests are in Autism and ADHD, particularly in women, PMDD, Perimenopause, Trauma and PTSD, and Chronic Pain and Illness.
Mr Liam Spicer
Unpacking and Addressing Internalised Ableism towards Autistic Individuals: A Collaborative Self-Reflective Session
1:45 PM - 2:45 PMAbstract
Unpacking and Addressing Discrimination and Internalised Ableism towards Autistic Individuals: A Collaborative Self-Reflective Session for Therapists
Format: Workshop or Interactive Learning Session – 1 hour
Liam Spicer & Monique Mitchelson
Lead by two Autistic, ADHD Psychologists, Liam Spicer, and Monique Mitchelson, this session will bring greater awareness to the prevalence, impact, and challenges associated with discrimination and internalised ableism towards Autistic individuals. Substantial research has demonstrated that autistic individuals are at substantially increased risk of discrimination and prejudice in various forms (Cleary et al., 2023). Recent studies (Jones et al., 2020) underscore the need for a holistic approach to examining discrimination, moving beyond the conventional focus on social challenges to delve into the intricate web of mental and physical health factors and acknowledging the diverse identities within the autistic community. Discrimination is in part caused by implicit bias (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995) which argues that social behaviour is influenced by unconscious associations and judgments that can bias our beliefs in an unconscious ways leading to sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism which is an implicit bias in the population towards abled bodied and non-disabled people as normative and ideal.
As therapists, being aware of any implicit biases is significantly important in clinical practice, as not doing so can interfere on connection, attunement, and the way we engage in the delivery of interventions and support. This needs to be an urgent priority amongst our profession and in all health settings, especially considering recent research demonstrating autistic individuals rating acceptance and understanding from health professionals as critical in supporting their current challenges (Mazurek et al., 2023). This session will bring awareness to the current research on discrimination and ableism towards Autistic individuals and provide an overview of the significant advancements in the field of Autism to give up to date knowledge on how Autism is viewed in line with the Neurodiversity Affirming Paradigm. The second half of the session will involve various self-reflective, and group-based exercises, aiming to bring awareness for all clinicians on internalised biases they may hold, how they may have developed, and through practical strategies both included in the session, and encouraged afterwards how they can be dismantled. Overall, the session aims to provide clinicians with knowledge on how they can more effectively support Autistic individuals, through becoming more aware of themselves, and the factors that may impact on the therapy relationship, and the delivery of interventions.
Format: Workshop or Interactive Learning Session – 1 hour
Liam Spicer & Monique Mitchelson
Lead by two Autistic, ADHD Psychologists, Liam Spicer, and Monique Mitchelson, this session will bring greater awareness to the prevalence, impact, and challenges associated with discrimination and internalised ableism towards Autistic individuals. Substantial research has demonstrated that autistic individuals are at substantially increased risk of discrimination and prejudice in various forms (Cleary et al., 2023). Recent studies (Jones et al., 2020) underscore the need for a holistic approach to examining discrimination, moving beyond the conventional focus on social challenges to delve into the intricate web of mental and physical health factors and acknowledging the diverse identities within the autistic community. Discrimination is in part caused by implicit bias (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995) which argues that social behaviour is influenced by unconscious associations and judgments that can bias our beliefs in an unconscious ways leading to sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism which is an implicit bias in the population towards abled bodied and non-disabled people as normative and ideal.
As therapists, being aware of any implicit biases is significantly important in clinical practice, as not doing so can interfere on connection, attunement, and the way we engage in the delivery of interventions and support. This needs to be an urgent priority amongst our profession and in all health settings, especially considering recent research demonstrating autistic individuals rating acceptance and understanding from health professionals as critical in supporting their current challenges (Mazurek et al., 2023). This session will bring awareness to the current research on discrimination and ableism towards Autistic individuals and provide an overview of the significant advancements in the field of Autism to give up to date knowledge on how Autism is viewed in line with the Neurodiversity Affirming Paradigm. The second half of the session will involve various self-reflective, and group-based exercises, aiming to bring awareness for all clinicians on internalised biases they may hold, how they may have developed, and through practical strategies both included in the session, and encouraged afterwards how they can be dismantled. Overall, the session aims to provide clinicians with knowledge on how they can more effectively support Autistic individuals, through becoming more aware of themselves, and the factors that may impact on the therapy relationship, and the delivery of interventions.
.....
Liam Spicer (he/him) is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the Cairnmillar Institute, co ordinating and teaching the postgraduate certificate in trauma informed care. He is a Psychologist, Researcher, EMDR Consultant and Training Facilitator and Accredited Schema Therapist with lived experience of being neurodivergent as an Autistic ADHDer. Liam has presented at both International and National conferences including the ISST Conference in Poland, the EMDR Asia Conference in Cambodia, the EMDR Australia conference two years consecutively, and the Australasian ADHD Professionals network conference among others. Liam has also delivered guest webinars and trainings for the EMDR Association of Australia, AAPi, Headspace, APS, and other organisations, and a regular podcast guest. Liam has been a contributor to the Routledge International Handbook of Child and Adolescent Grief and is currently a part of an international collaboration for the first book on Neurodiversity Affirming Schema Therapy, due for publication mid 2026. He has published in top academic journals such as Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Psychology, Psychotherapy Research and the ISST bulletin in the areas of EMDR, Grief, Schema Therapy and Neurodivergence and is currently a part of a national working group developing Australia’s first clinical practice guideline for MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD. Liam's PhD is focused on the development and application of Schema Therapy for Prolonged Grief and he has hosted workshops across Australia on the integration of EMDR and Schema Therapy.
