Specialties:

• Autism

  • Questioning or late-identified high-masking, non-stereotypical Autism/neurodivergence

  • Mental health & helping field professionals (therapists, HR, nursing/medical, teachers/professors, communication specialists, etc) who are or question being Autistic/neurodivergent

  • Internalized PDA profile of Autism

• Narcissistic Abuse

I provide online individual or group psychotherapy for questioning or late identified neurodivergent/Autistic/ADHDer adult clients located in Texas and most states in the US. A big part of my work is helping clients who are not sure if they are Autistic/neurodivergent/an ADHDer but want to explore that more for their own knowledge and to better their lives.

I’m a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. I work from a neurodiversity affirming and strengths-based lens. I offer optional readings each session that I select tailored for you and your current concerns, at no extra cost.

Please email me (drjennifermcadams@gmail.com) or text (281-239-9771) to set up a free 20 minute online consultation so we can get to know each other a little bit and see if we'd be a good fit to work together. I see clients via telehealth (online), Monday through Thursday 9am-2pm (Central time zone).

I only conduct therapy and don’t provide formal autism or ADHD reports/letters. I also don’t complete or provide other types of evaluations or letters. I’m happy to provide referrals for assessment providers if you are interested. I can and do diagnose though, for your knowledge.

I am able to see clients online who are located in MOST states of the US, but licensing laws for psychologists make it to where I CAN’T see you if you’re located in these states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, or Vermont. I’m located in and schedule based on the central time zone, but I see clients who are located in other time zones too.

More About My Specialties:

Late-Identified, High-Masking, Highly Perceptive, Non-Stereotypical Autism/Neurodivergence

I specialize in helping clients who have begun to suspect they have aspects of Autism/neurodivergence or have recently identified themselves as Autistic/neurodivergent. My clients don’t fit the stereotypical, textbook picture of Autism so that’s why it’s hard to see it fits them, and they realize it later in life. Some of the information coming out on social media about Autism from the new neurodiversity affirming lens is often how my clients start to realize it might fit them. A lot of my clients find the word “Autism” hard to read/say or feel that it fits them, partly due to the stigma but also because my clients don’t fit society’s understanding of this concept; in a lot of cases they have the exact opposite of some of the stereotypical traits.

I work with “high masking” Autistic people who’ve historically learned to hide or not fully express their authentic selves; these clients might be so used to and skilled at this, they don’t even realize they’re doing it. They tend to be good at picking up on social cues, reading other peoples’ feelings, and recognizing patterns in the world and in others, which is the opposite of what society is taught about Autism. This awareness can feel like a burden, and it can be very draining, especially when we get messages from others to not listen to ourselves and that we’re incorrect. Actually what we’re experiencing is often accurate and real, but we might doubt it. My clients often like to learn about psychology, deep dive about their interests in a way that others don’t get, have unique social perceptual abilities, don’t like small talk, and want to connect deeply to others, but they have felt misunderstood or had a hard time finding or keeping connections with people who fully “get” them.

Some of my clients have related to the “highly sensitive person” label, but others are actually under-sensitive without realizing it and don’t resonate with the sensory difficulties at all of trouble with clothing or texture in foods etc. If they fit the latter, it can be even harder to think that you’re Autistic.

Mental Health & Helping Field Professionals Who are Autistic/Neurodivergent

Some of my clients are mental health or “helping” professionals themselves (HR, nursing/medical, teachers/professors, communication specialists, etc) and unknowingly went into their fields of work partly due to their Autism/neurodivergence. They might have psychology or communication as a special interest of theirs that they find endlessly interesting, and they know more about it than most of their colleagues as a result but doubt this about themselves. They might have been interested in this area because it was helping them to learn to “mask” or fit in with society, without even realizing it. They also might be trying to help others, like they wish they had been given. Research shows autistic/neurodivergent people often make excellent therapists and helping professionals for a number of reasons, including the following: our dedication to learning, our perceptive abilities, our pattern recognition, and our increased ability to understand people of a similar neurotype, etc. They might have unique approaches or theories in their field which could result in them being quite successful in their career or struggling and feeling like an outcast/imposter.

Internalized PDA

I also have experience in working with the internalized PDA (persistent drive for autonomy) profile of Autism, meaning people who highly value autonomy and rely on masking and people pleasing/fawning to cope with life. This is not a disorder, but just a certain profile of Autism. These clients tend to not like some social conventions or interactions that seem fake or superficial, like going to parades/pep rallies or small talk. As a feature of this profile, some of my clients are quite empathetic and caring while also being drawn to one or more dark themes, such as horror movies, rock/metal music, villain characters, dark humor, Halloween, disastrous/mysterious historical stories like the Titanic or Chernobyl, death, and/or true crime. Some of my clients feel like they have a rebel part of them or a part interested in these dark themes that they have learned to conceal, as others don’t quite “get it.” I consider PDA to be largely a matter of somebody just seeing and facing some realities about how things are, with less sugarcoating it.

Narcissistic Abuse

Many neurodivergent people have also experienced narcissistic abuse, so that is another specialty of mine, is to help them heal and prevent future abuse. I am able to help clients who experienced both overt/grandiose or covert/vulnerable narcissism. Narcissists or manipulative people can wear all kinds of masks and do not fit one mold.

Overt/grandiose narcissists are closer to the image we all have heard about narcissists: extroverted, a need for excessive admiration, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, entitled, etc.

Covert/vulnerable narcissists can seem shy/introverted, and you can feel bad for them because they often present as depressed or having low self esteem. Covert/vulnerable narcissistic abuse can last for years or decades, be very subtle and hard to spot, often involves a lot of neglect or the deprivation of needs, and in some ways can be more harmful because it’s harder to believe it yourself that it’s abuse and harder to get support from others. The cycle of abuse can be very hard to detect in these cases but still tends to follow the idealization (honeymoon period), devaluation (subtle ways you start to feel like a burden or like you’re hurting them when it’s the opposite), and discarding (breaking up or pushing away) cycle. A lot of the time they can be so helpful or romantic or nice, but at other times they feel so confusing or cold. Some covert/vulnerable narcissists do the final discard after years or decades with their partners in unbelievably cruel ways out of nowhere, sometimes completely abandoning their partners with no notice or warning that anything was wrong and act like a completely different person.

Some covert narcissists are also communal narcissists so they make a big show about helping others, volunteering, and acting nice. This can be especially confusing, as they can be well regarded by others and go above and beyond for them but then behave differently behind closed doors.

How Therapy with Me Can Help:

I help neurodivergent people with a variety of concerns or goals, including but not limited to:

• understanding and learning more about your neurotype (Autism or ADHD) and unique identity or if these even apply to you

• learning ways to recover from and reduce burnout cycles (what might seem like depression)

• understanding your sensory needs, which can sometimes be the reason for chronic anxiety

  • You might be highly sensitive to sensory stimuli, under-sensitive, or some combination

• learning what mental health tools and supports work for you

• unmasking to the degree you choose

• healing from and understanding the inevitable trauma from being a neurodivergent person in a neurotypically geared world and other traumas/abuse

  • recovering from narcissistic abuse

• coping with nervous system regulation and overload (meltdowns which might seem like panic attacks or shutdowns which can seem like dissociation)

• determining how you want to navigate within a neurotypically geared society

• stress/anxiety, including social anxiety

• romantic relationship, friendship, and/or family difficulties

  • problems with forming or maintaining fulfilling friendships/relationships or "finding your people”

• learning how communication or identifying/expressing emotions works for you and how to bridge the gap with others

• intrusive thoughts/obsessions and compulsions (OCD)

  • this is related to “looping” or “ruminative” type thinking which is common for our neurotype but can also be distressing

• attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or formerly ADD) and executive functioning difficulties/differences

• coping with life transitions/changes

• desire for personal growth

• building meaning in one's life

• self-esteem or confidence difficulties

• career or academic concerns

• sexual difficulties and wellbeing