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Everyone Gets a Seat at the Console: ACT and the Late-Identified Autistic Adult

CE Hours 3 3 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 3 Autism/Neurodiversity 3 Late Diagnosis in Adults 3 Clinical Communication 3 Cultural Competence

About this course


This course uses Inside Out and Inside Out 2 to make ACT easier to teach, explain, and apply in practice. Watching the films or familiarity with the films is strongly suggested to fully understand the concepts in this course.
By connecting key film moments to the experiences of late-diagnosed autistic adults, clinicians learn practical ways to discuss psychological flexibility, masking, identity, and experiential avoidance with greater clarity and clinical precision.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the six core processes of ACT and explain each using accessible, film-based language suitable for use in session with clients.
  • Distinguish between experiential avoidance and acceptance in clinical presentations where autistic masking is a primary coping strategy.
  • Recognize how cognitive fusion manifests differently in autistic clients — particularly around identity, social performance, and anxiety.
  • Apply defusion techniques adapted for literal processing styles and pattern-oriented cognition common in autistic neurotypes.
  • Describe the clinical significance of the conceptualized self versus the observing self in clients navigating a late autism diagnosis
  • Integrate neuroaffirming, culturally responsive ACT interventions into treatment planning for neurodivergent adults.
  • Use film-based metaphors as psychoeducation tools with clients and as communication tools when consulting with other professionals.

Learning Levels

  • Beginner
  • Intermediate

Target Audience

Licensed psychologists, clinical social workers, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and allied mental health professionals

Course Instructor(s)

  • Rachelle P. Goldenberg, LCSW, PPSC

    Rachelle Pavao Goldenberg, LCSW, PPSC, is a licensed clinical social worker, neurofeedback provider, and founder of Swift Mind Care, a neuroaffirming therapy practice based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She specializes in Autism, ADHD, trauma, and cultural identity, with a focus on high-masking and late-identified neurodivergent adults. Her clinical work integrates neurofeedback, polyvagal-informed approaches, ACT, CBT, somatic interventions, and Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Rachelle holds an MSW from UC Berkeley and brings over 20 years of direct service experience. She is the author of When Your Brain Needs a Minute and is of Tlingit and Hawaiian heritage. She brings both professional expertise and lived experience as a neurodivergent person to her clinical work, training, and consultation.

Disclosure

DISCLOSURE OF RELEVANT FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity ― including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests). The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity’s planners, faculty, and the reviewer: PLANNERS AND REVIEWER The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships. FACULTY The faculty of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

References

  • Cage, E., & Troxell-Whitman, Z. (2019). Understanding the reasons, contexts and costs of camouflaging for autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(5), 1899-1911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-03878-x
  • Docter, P. (Director). (2015). Inside out [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures.
  • Mann, K. (Director). (2024). Inside out 2 [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures.
  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change. Guilford Press.
  • Hull, L., Petrides, K. V., Allison, C., Smith, P., Baron-Cohen, S., Lai, M. C., & Mandy, W. (2017). “Putting on my best normal”: Social camouflaging in adults with autism spectrum conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2519-2534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3166-5
  • Lawson, L. P., Richdale, A. L., Denney, K., & Morris, E. M. (2023). ACT-i, an insomnia intervention for autistic adults: A pilot study. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 51(2), 146-163. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465822000571
  • Lillis, J., & Hayes, S. C. (2007). Applying acceptance, mindfulness, and values to the reduction of prejudice: A pilot study. Behavior Modification, 31(4), 389-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445506298413
  • Mandy, W. (2019). Social camouflaging in autism: Is it time to lose the mask?. Autism, 23(8), 1879-1881. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319878559
  • Pahnke, J., Jansson-Fröjmark, M., Andersson, G., Bjureberg, J., Jokinen, J., Bohman, B., & Lundgren, T. (2023). Acceptance and commitment therapy for autistic adults: A randomized controlled pilot study in a psychiatric outpatient setting. Autism, 27(5), 1461-1476. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221140749
  • Pahnke, J., Lundgren, T., Hursti, T., & Hirvikoski, T. (2014). Outcomes of an acceptance and commitment therapy-based skills training group for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: A quasi-experimental pilot study. Autism, 18(8), 953-964. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313501091
  • Raymaker, D. M., Teo, A. R., Steckler, N. A., Lentz, B., Scharer, M., Delos Santos, A., Kapp, S.K., Hunter, M., Joyce, A., & Nicolaidis, C. (2020). “Having all of your internal resources exhausted beyond measure and being left with no clean-up crew”: Defining autistic burnout. Autism in Adulthood, 2(2), 132-143. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2019.0079
  • Timmerman, A., Totsika, V., Lye, V., Crane, L., Linden, A., & Pellicano, E. (2025). Quality-of-life measurement in randomised controlled trials of mental health interventions for autistic adults: A systematic review. Autism, 29(3), 579-595. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241287586
  • Twohig, M. P., & Levin, M. E. (2017). Acceptance and commitment therapy as a treatment for anxiety and depression: A review. Psychiatric Clinics, 40(4), 751-770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.009

CE Process Info

Content

  • Module 1: The Chalk Circle
    1 parts
    • Experiential Avoidance, Masking, and What Clinicians Miss
  • Module 2: Sadness Touches the Memory
    1 parts
    • Acceptance Is Not Agreement — And Why That Distinction Changes Everything
  • Module 3: Anxiety Takes the Console
    1 parts
    • Cognitive Fusion, Defusion, and the Difference Between Having a Thought and Being Had by One
  • Module 4: Who Am I Now?
    1 parts
    • The Self, Values, and What Holds When the Old Identity Falls Apart
  • Module 5: Drive Anyway
    1 parts
    • Present-Moment Contact, Committed Action, and What Happens After You Feel It All
  • Joint Accreditation

    Joint Accreditation (JA)

    In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

  • American Psychological Association (APA)

    Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.

  • New York Education Department's State Board for Social Work (NYEDSW)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. #0060.

  • New York Education Department Board of Creative Arts Therapy (NYSEDCAT)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board of Creative Arts Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0008

  • New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors (NYSEDLMHC)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.

  • New York Education Department Board for Licensed Psychoanalysts (NYSEDLP)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychoanalysts as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts. #P-0031.

  • New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology (NYEDPSY)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists. #PSY-0016.

  • New York Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy (NYEDMFT)

    CE Learning Systems, LLC  (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0045.

Everyone Gets a Seat at the Console: ACT and the Late-Identified Autistic Adult
You Have Completed This course
$30
You are enrolled
  • CE Hours
    3
  • Type
    Self-Paced
  • Publication Date
    Jul 22nd, 2026

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