When: July 18, 2025 from 9:30 am to 11:00 am.
Description: 2 CEs
This presentation, led by Stephanie Kollar, LMFT, an autistic mental health therapist, will guide clinicians through a deep exploration of neurodivergence, trauma, and the challenges in understanding and identifying neurodivergent clients. Drawing from lived and professional experience, this course will provide clinicians with a framework to reduce ableist perspectives, enhance therapeutic rapport, and apply an anti-ableist, affirming worldview to their practice. The presentation will delve into the nuances of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD, and Complex PTSD (CPTSD), highlighting how these conditions intersect and how therapists can more accurately identify and support neurodivergent clients. Participants will leave with practical tools to navigate sensory processing needs, adapt existing evidence-based practices, and reframe their approach to neurodivergence for more inclusive, effective care.
Stephanie Kollar, MA, LMFT, has a diverse background in mental health work, including field-based family therapy with families living in poverty and navigating high levels of intersectional identities. Specializing in neurodivergence, trauma, anxiety, depression, and behavioral challenges, Stephanie developed a keen ability to differentiate between subtle diagnostic distinctions and recognized the importance of honoring neurodivergent differences. She has also provided short-term, evidence-based care for adults and now runs a private practice focused on anti-ableist, affirming care for neurodivergent individuals.
As a professor in the Master’s of Clinical Psychology program at Antioch University Santa Barbara, her alma mater, Stephanie specializes in the intersection of neuroscience and anti-ableist mental health care. Identifying as both autistic and ADHD (AUDHD), she integrates her lived experience into her work, helping students and colleagues better understand and engage with the neurodivergent experience.
Cost: $10 for Student/Associate members, $20 for SBCAMFT members, $25 for all State CAMFT members, and $30 for Non-SBCAMFT members (Join now!)
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Presentation Goals
This course is designed to help therapists identify and understand the lived experience of neurodivergence, while reducing ableist identification of neurodivergence. By reframing neurodivergence through an anti-ableist, affirming worldview, clinicians will be equipped to enhance their approach to trauma-informed care and adapt their practices to better serve neurodivergent clients.
Measurable objectives
1. Participants will be able to differentiate 3 differences between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Complex PTSD (CPTSD), identifying the key similarities and differences between these conditions.
2. Participants will be able to recognize and address 3 common areas of misdiagnosis, especially in clients of color, and understand the implications of such misdiagnoses.
3. Participants will explore 3 strategies for adapting existing evidence-based practices to meet the unique needs of neurodivergent clients.
Additional Notes Pertaining To Our Policy As A CE Provider:
1) This course has been designed for a mental health professional that include LMFT's, LCSW's, LPCC's, and LEP's. Also, Pre-licensed and Associate members may earn hours of experience for attending the Santa Barbara Chapter of CAMFT workshops as approved by their supervisor.
2) Refund/Cancellation Policy: Attendees may cancel registration and request a refund one week from the time of the event.
3) To request accommodations for special needs, please email the Program Administrator at events@sbcamft.org.
4) To obtain the grievance policy or report a grievance please email events@sbcamft.org.
5) Course Completion Certificates will be awarded at the end of the course in exchange for a completed evaluation form.
6) Course meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
7) SB CAMFT provider number (57942).
8) Santa Barbara Chapter CAMFT is Approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFT's, LCSW's, LPCC's, and LEP's. Santa Barbara Chapter of CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and content.
9) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodates attendees with disabilities in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. Event is ADA compliant.
Additional Information:
*This webinar will be available by Zoom. If you do not already have a free Zoom account, sign up for it today. The Zoom link will be emailed in advance of the webinar. The webinar will be a mixture of lecture and also Q&A.
