I've done autism CPD before but it felt incomplete

Created by Colette Kelly, Modified on Thu, 7 May at 10:15 AM by Colette Kelly

At a Glance

If you have already invested in autism CPD and felt it was incomplete — shallow, theoretical, or rooted in a framework that didn't quite sit right — your instinct was probably correct. Much existing autism training for counsellors is built on deficit-based models that the autistic community itself has moved beyond.

What's often missing in other training

Across the audience for this course, a few patterns recur in feedback about previous CPD:

Awareness without application — "now you know about autism" but not "here is what to do differently"

Theory without lived experience — built by neurotypical academics studying autism from the outside

Deficit framing — autism as a list of impairments, a problem to manage

Surface coverage — masking mentioned in passing rather than studied in depth; alexithymia, interoception, the double empathy problem either skipped or skimmed

If any of those describe what you experienced, you are not alone. The frustration shows up consistently in our member feedback.

What this course offers instead

The differentiator is in three places:

Built and delivered by neurodivergent practitioners — co-created with autistic individuals and autistic counsellors

Implementation, not just instruction — a full day of live work building autism-informed practice into your own work

Depth on the topics often skimmed — the double empathy problem, alexithymia, interoception, masking, autism and trauma, intersectional diversity

Graduate voices on this specific frustration

"It moves beyond outdated, deficit-based models to offer a truly affirming approach to understanding and working with neurodivergence."

"The extra reading, videos by neurodivergent trainers and research references have given me the depth and understanding I was looking for."

"I have completed numerous courses with Counselling Tutor, and this one stands out as equally informative and inspiring."

That phrase — the depth and understanding I was looking for — captures the experience of someone who had been searching, and finally found.

A note on previous training

We don't disparage other providers. There are some genuinely good autism courses out there. But the gap between "good awareness training" and "course that changes your practice" is real, and it's the gap this course was built to close.

Want to know more?

You can see full course details — including upcoming start dates and current pricing — at the Certificate in Working Therapeutically with Autistic Clients page.

If you have a specific question we haven't answered here, email us at support@counsellingtutor.com — a real person will reply within 24 hours.