Yael Clark,
Developmental Psychologist
(Incorporating "SupportingParents".)
ABOUT MY WORK IN 2025. (Starts gloomy, ends excited. Come with me for the ride!)
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The mental health system and the disability sector are failing dismally and so many psychologists have closed their books or have waitlists that are too long for people who need support sooner rather than later. Many people can't afford session fees (Medicare rebates are too low and for too few sessions) and many psychologists cannot afford to keep their practices open.
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I closed my books in 2022 and stopped seeing clients in-person in March 2023. I needed to slow down and my own children needed me. After a relatively slow-paced year, we're all doing much better and my mind turned to new ventures.
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I can support the mental health system best by training and supervising early career psychologists and psychologists new to the Neurodiversity Affirming Movement. I can also reach more people by producing on-demand psycho-educational videos and online support groups. After two years of percolating the idea, I have launched LOAPAC!
The League of Autistic Psychologists and Affirming Allies
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LOAPAC hosts a regularly updated register of neurodiversity affirming psychologists that will be accessible to all.
I add (and remove) content on here whenever the mood so dictates, so please scroll around for information about parenting Autistic/ADHD kids and/or looking after your Autistic/ADHD self. My Facebook page (above) is where I share info and tips to help you & your family.
General Information
General Information
Anxiety is so common in our fast-paced world of too many choices and too much information. We all need strategies to manage anxiety; teaching this should be on every parent's and school's radar. Then there are those of us who develop an Anxiety Disorder (Generalised Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, Agoraphobia, Panic Disorder). With lots of self-compassion and support, you or your child can learn to live the life that you want, even when Anxiety shows up. ​ ​
OCD is a neurobiological condition that creates a lot of anxiety in the individual and their family unit. A person with OCD experiences intrusive thoughts that are distressing and contrary to the person knows to be true. The person feels compelled to think, say or do very specific rituals to relieve the distress.
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The field of identifying and working with Autistic children and adults is undergoing a huge change. New science is rapidly emerging and opening up ways of thinking about difference and disability that fit within a civil rights paradigm. You will hear different views from different professionals. Find a psychologist who will connect with you or your child (whomever is being assessed or in therapy) and work out your views together. For many people, being Autistic is just normal. For these people, the distress and disability stems from society as social norms and capitalistic values do not allow for their needs or their communication style. Other Autistics and parents of Autistics, see this neurotype as a disorder in and of itself. I respect their worry and distress as I work towards a society that is more accommodating and inclusive so that marginalised people with unmet access needs can feel secure and valued.
Autistic people may seek psychotherapy for mood disorders and other mental illnesses just the same as non-Autistic do.Psychotherapy with Autistic people is not simply the same therapy as for neurotypicals. We have an entirely different way of processing emotions and problem solving. Counselling and group work aims to help individuals and families develop self-understanding, self-compassion, and self-advocacy. (I regret that I don't have the skills to therapeutically with Deaf Autistics or those with significant intellectual disability).
Have you or your child discovered you have an ADHD brain? Learn how this super-busy brain works. The gifts, the struggles...all of it. ADHDers will thrive when they are understood and supported! Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, and OCD needs to match the processing style of the ADHDer so therapy is not simply training an ADHDer to use the same life management strategies of a neurotypical person. Nope, it's different strokes for different folks!
People with Intersectional Identities can have a hard time finding a psychologist who sees the whole of their complex, sometimes-conflicted, yet ever-enriched Self. I am a White, Anglo-Australian, tertiary educated, middle class cis-gendered, heterosexual female and I own my privilege. I am also, however, a late-diagnosed Autistic ADHDer, the mother of Autistic ADHDers, proudly Jewish, formerly Chasidic, and I live in a body that is significantly bigger than society caters for. Yep, I have navigated some pretty complex identity challenges.
