Aligning Counseling Psychology with Neurodiversity Scholarship: A Call to Action

Neurodivergent people are a notably underserved population in counseling psychology, which is an urgent concern given that they experience elevated rates of mental health challenges and express a desire to receive mental health services. In their Major Contribution (MC), Porras Pyland & Rodriguez Tackett make substantial headway in introducing these important issues to the field. We situate our response to their work in existing neurodiversity scholarship and advocacy efforts, in addition to existing counseling psychology frameworks. We note areas of consensus, and also areas where our perspectives diverge, particularly around neurodivergent identity, terminology, the conceptualization of mental health disparities, and proposed therapeutic frameworks. Finally, we highlight the ways in which counseling psychology is already well aligned with the goals of the neurodiversity movement, and close with a productive vision and call to action, offering initial suggestions for practitioners seeking to better serve neurodivergent clients.