Trauma, Autism, and Adversity: Building Safety, Resilience, and Recovery
- Speaker:
- Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW
- Duration:
- 2 Hours 02 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
May 07, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS150764
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Explore how trauma and neurodivergence intersect and discover the unique risk and resilience factors that influence recovery, self-regulation, and adaptive functioning.
You’ll learn:
- Trauma processing in autistic individuals: unique presentations, sensory challenges, and resilience-building strategies.
- The role of nervous system sensitivity and masking in trauma vulnerability
- Practical trauma-informed, neuro-affirming interventions—including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)—to build safety, meaning, and resilience
Credit
Speaker
Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW Related seminars and products
Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in southern Illinois specializing in the crossroads of mental health, trauma and neurodiversity utilizing interventions informed by compassion-focused therapy, acceptance commitment therapy, EMDR and other traditions. Jennifer is the author of The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook: Tools for Young Adults from ACT, DBT and Recovery-Oriented CBT and writes a blog for Psychology Today entitled ‘Beyond Mental Health: Defying Stereotypes and False Limitations.’
Jennifer has provided training to hundreds of clinicians nationwide on topics related to neurodiversity, mental health and healing trauma. She offers a unique perspective infused with her lived experience as an individual who has walked her own journey toward mental health and self-acceptance as an autistic person herself.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Jennifer Gerlach maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Jennifer Gerlach has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Additional Info
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Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)
Access never expires for this product.
Additional CE Info
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Objectives
- Examine how trauma uniquely impacts sensory processing, self-regulation, and participation in daily occupations for autistic individuals.
- Select polyvagal-informed and neuro-affirming strategies to support safety, emotional regulation, and engagement across therapeutic and everyday environments.
- Integrate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and other trauma-informed frameworks to promote resilience, autonomy, and meaningful occupational participation.
Outline
Understanding Trauma Through a Neurodivergent Lens
- Overlap between trauma responses and autistic traits
- Sensory dysregulation and dissociation as adaptive protection
- The impact of chronic invalidation, masking, and social misunderstanding
- Core risk and resilience factors unique to autistic clients
The Nervous System and Regulation Pathways
- Polyvagal-informed understanding of autistic stress responses
- Internal vs. external safety cues and misattuned environments
- Body-based awareness and interoception in trauma recovery
- Regulation foundations through sensory and movement supports
Therapeutic Frameworks for Healing and Growth
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for values, identity, and self-compassion
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for emotional regulation and distress tolerance
- Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) for self-acceptance and working through trauma-related blocks to self-compassion
- Integration of neuro-affirming and trauma-informed principles across modalities
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Clinician Tools for Safety, Connection, and Empowerment
- Creating predictable, low-demand therapeutic environments
- Collaborative pacing and consent-based intervention planning
- Language shifts that reduce shame and promote agency
- Case illustrations highlighting post-traumatic growth in autistic clients
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Educators
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Physical Therapists
- Physicians
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Speech-Language Pathologists
Reviews
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