A podcast for neurodivergent women, hosted by clinical psychologist Monique Mitchelson and clinical neuropsychologist Michelle Livock. Covering Autism to ADHD and everything in between, we aim to educate and inspire women who think differently.
Today’s guest is Jess Rowlings. Jess is the CEO and co-founder of Next Level Collaboration, as well as a qualified speech and language therapist. She also works as a researcher at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, and previously Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Jess is an adult diagnosed AuDHDer and has a lifelong love of games, both of which inform her work and research. As a researcher, she is passionate about the use of digital games-based learning to promote inclusion and a sense of belonging, and her work has included developing and running a dedicated Minecraft server to support neurodivergent girls and women.
Monique and Jess cover:
You can find Jess on LinkedIn or Twitter @JessRowlings, or through Next Level Collaboration. Jess has also co-written a book with Matthew Harrison - Press B to Belong – on creating inclusive Esports programs for school communities.
This episode with Jess is kicking off a little mini-series we have planned for you on neurodivergent joy; next week we’ll be talking about special interests and creative expression, followed by self-care and self-nurturance. We hope you enjoy!
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
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This week Monique interviews Professor Sandra Thom-Jones about aging as an autistic person. Sandra is an autistic author, artisan, academic, and advocate. She provides consultancy services to education, employment, and healthcare providers, and supports for autistic people, through her consultancy ‘Autistic Professor’. Sandra is the author of Growing in to Autism, and she has undertaken numerous research projects in partnership with the autistic community on the experiences of autistic people and the knowledge and attitudes towards autism in the community; including research that won the Autism CRC’s 2019 and 2021 awards for research translation and the 2022 award for inclusive research.
Monique and Sandra cover:
You can find more of Sandra’s work through her website – www.autisticprofessor.com – or follow her on Facebook (@autisticprofessor) or Instagram (@sandrathomjones_au_author).
Get a copy of Sandra’s book, Growing in to Autism, and pre-order her upcoming book, Autistics in Academia, through Cambridge University Press.
Follow Sandra on socials to stay updated on her next book, on the experiences of autistic people in the workplace!
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Content warning: This episode discusses grooming and sexual assault. Some listeners may decide to skip this one.
This week Monique interviews fellow psychologist Anna Clarke on grooming. As a multiply neurodivergent psychologist, EMDR therapist, and play therapist, Anna is passionate about supporting care teams with a trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming lens, and they are experienced in working with survivors of sexual assault and family violence.
On this episode Monique and Anna unpack this incredibly important topic, including what makes grooming such an insidious, ‘hard to pin down’ practice. Monique and Anna cover:
Find out more about Anna’s work on this topic and sign up for their upcoming Grooming Webinar (with all profits being donated to support services for survivors of sexual assault) through Divergent Futures.
Here are some resources we’d recommend:
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week we speak with Penny Moodie about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Penny is a writer, OCD advocate, and mum of three little people. She is the author of ‘The Joy Thief: How OCD steals your happiness – and how to get it back’ and the co-creator the website soocd.com.au, which is packed with information on OCD and how to get support.
In this episode Penny very generously shares her personal experience with OCD, and she takes us through the ‘why’ of OCD and the strategies and treatment approaches she has found helpful.
We cover:
You can find Penny on Instagram @pennymoodie and through her website, So OCD. Get a copy of Penny’s book, The Joy Thief, here.
The book Penny mentioned was The Man Who Couldn’t stop, by David Adam.
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today’s episode Monique interviews Liam Spicer about grief and loss. Listeners will notice that Liam is not a neurodivergent woman, but we’ve decided to make an exception this time as Liam is an expert in the area of neurodivergence and grief.
Liam is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, and he’s a Psychologist, EMDR Consultant, and Accredited Schema Therapist based in Launceston, Tasmania. He is also an Autistic ADHDer, and is passionate about training, research, and collaboration with other neurodivergent individuals in the Neurodiversity Affirming Space. Liam’s current PhD is focused on the use of Schema Therapy for Prolonged Grief, and he has published journal articles and book chapters on grief in addition to presenting at national and international conferences. His interest in this area is derived from both professional and personal lived experience of loss.
Just a quick warning for listeners, this episode contains mention of death and loss. Some of our listeners may decide to skip this one.
Monique and Liam cover:
You can find Liam through his website or on Instagram or LinkedIn @LiamSpicer.
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We are thrilled to interview Margo White this week on working with eating disorders in the neurodivergent population. Margo is an Accredited Clinical Nutritionist, proudly neurodivergent AuDHDer, mother of two, and founder of Whole Body Nutrition. Margo helps Neurodivergent folk of all ages, genders, and backgrounds to cultivate an emotionally healthy relationship with food. A relationship that understands, and accepts that there are different ways of eating, and that validates all sensory feeding differences. Margo draws from a neuro-affirming, trauma informed, and lived experience lens.
In this episode we cover:
You can find Margo through her website – Whole Body Nutrition – and on Instagram (@margos_wholebodynutrition) and Facebook.
Check out Margo’s eBooks on Neurodiversity Affirming Feeding Practices and on ARFID and the Nervous System.
Margo also mentioned Naureen Hunani’s work on neurodivergence and eating – find her on Instagram @rds_for_neurodiversity
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week Monique chats with Dr Hayley Kelly about entrepreneurship. Hayley is a clinical psychologist, CEO, and Founder of Therapists Rising. Her goal is to transform the mental health landscape by helping therapists build sustainable and impactful businesses. Diagnosed with Autism and ADHD later in life, she brings a unique, neuroaffirming approach to entrepreneurship, inspiring mental health professionals to embrace innovation, creativity, and resilience in their practices.
This episode is jammed with incredible insights on how to leverage your neurodivergent strengths as a business owner – it’s a must listen for any ND folks thinking of launching themselves into the world of entrepreneurship and business ownership (or for those who are there already!).
In this episode Monique and Hayley cover:
You can find Hayley through her website, Therapists Rising, or on Instagram @dr.hayleykelly.
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We kick off Season 6 with a chunky episode about being childfree, and share our personal experiences on this topic. This was a really meaningful and important topic for us – we hope you find it useful!
We cover:
Things we mentioned plus other good resources:
Our astute listeners might notice the cacophony of crows occasionally kicking off in the background of this ep – imagine yourself in the Australian bush if it helps!!
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
Contact us at [email protected], or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For our final episode of the season we welcome Sonny Jane Wise to the podcast, to share their wisdom on all things neurodivergence. This is a fabulous ep to start with if you’re new to the neurodiversity affirming model, and also if you’ve been here a while!
Sonny Jane is a trans, multiply neurodivergent & disabled public speaker, advocate and author. Sonny was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD as a child and grew up only hearing a deficit narrative about their neurodivergence. Since then, they have gone on to build an audience of over 100, 000 people online, have written The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills and We’re All Neurodiverse and has worked with organisations and services around Australia and the world to help change the narrative around neurodivergence and create a more neurodiversity affirming society.
In this episode we cover:
You can find out more about Sonny Jane and access their content through their website.
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We are thrilled to have Rosemary Richings on the podcast today, to chat with us about her experience of dyspraxia. Rosemary is a writer, editor, and public speaker specialising in disability and neurodiversity, and she is the author of Stumbling Through Space and Time: Living Life With Dyspraxia. Rosemary is on the board of trustees of Dyspraxic Me, a charity for dyspraxic young adults.
In this episode we cover:
You can find Rosemary through her socials here, and through her website.
You can access more information on dyspraxia through the Developmental Coordination Disorder Australia website.
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this week's episode we chat about compassionate practice. We have both been super keen to do an episode on compassion for a while now, given compassion is a core tenant of our practice. In this ep we went through some of the core features of compassion, how this can be used therapeutically, and developing self-compassion. We loved putting this episode together for you!
We cover:
Resources on compassionate practice:
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here.
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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