Neurodiversity-Affirming Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Informed Program for Autistic Adults
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), initially designed by Dr Marsha Linehan (1993), has been widely used to help clients manage issues around emotional dysregulation. There is growing evidence to demonstrate DBT can be helpful for autistic clients, partially due to increased vulnerability to emotional dysregulation and overwhelm. DBT utilises validation strategies and dialectical thinking, which can help autistic adults navigate the challenges of living in a neurotypical world and maintain their sense of identity.
This group program is unique as it uses a neurodiversity-affirming and strengths-based approach to reconceptualize standard Dialectical Behavioural Therapy concepts and skills to recognize the context of autistic clients and help build self-compassion, emotional regulation and distress tolerance.
The skills learnt across the program may help improve functioning and well-being in areas such as:
-
Emotional regulation
-
Managing sensory sensitivities and overwhelm
-
Self-compassion and recognising your context as a neurodivergent person
-
Self-understanding
-
Challenges managing intense emotions and tolerating distress
-
Building body and interoceptive awareness
-
Reducing autistic burnout
-
Stress, anxiety and general mental health
Next Program Round:
16th March to 25th May 2026
Why Not Standard DBT?
While DBT has been shown to be beneficial for autistic clients, DBT essentially utilises a behavioural approach to treatment which can inadvertently encourage social camouflaging or masking and may result in autistic burnout and assimilation.Furthermore, it can be argued that DBT-based interventions, which are based on behavioural approaches, run contrary to neurodiversity-affirming principles.
The NDA-DBT informed program was developed to acknowledge the dialectics of neurodivergence and help an autistic person find the ‘middle ground’ and move toward acculturation.
How Does It Run?
The program will run with a group of 6-10 participants and one psychologist/clinical registrar for 10 weekly sessions of 1.5 hours each. The program runs online on Monday evenings from 5:30pm-7pm (AEDT) and 5:30pm-7pm (AEST following April 5th 2026).
Each session will involve a review of the previous week and a range of discussions and some activities. PDF handouts will be provided each week and following completion of the group, a collated participant workbook with all weeks included and a Dropbox containing additional information will be provided.
Please note: if you choose to take part in the program, you are asked to commit to attending all ten sessions.
Who Is It For?
The program was developed specifically to work with the unique strengths and experiences of autistic adults Australia-wide.
We have made significant changes to the DBT concepts and language to make it more neurodiversity-affirming. Clinicians with lived experience and autistic clients who have completed the program have provided invaluable input to tailor the program to support the needs of autistic adults.
Who Created The Program?
Lead Facilitator and Lived Experience Co-Developer
Nimasha Weerakoon (she/her) is a registered psychologist and a clinical psychology registrar practising at the Candlelight Psychology. She is the lead facilitator of this program, under the mentorship of Dr Sakdalan. She identifies as autistic and is passionate about providing affirming and accessible mental health care. She is committed to approaching psychology through a neurodiversity-affirmative lens, promoting equity and inclusion for neurodivergent people within psychology and treating distress, not difference. She is community-oriented and works from an intersectional lens. She completed her Masters of Clinical Psychology at the Cairnmillar Institute and co-created the NDA-DBT program with Dr Sakdalan.
Nimasha Weerakoon
Clinical Supervisor and Co-Developer
Dr Joseph Allan Sakdalan (he/him) is a registered clinical psychologist and clinical neuropsychologist passionate about supporting neurodivergent clients and has extensive experience working with this population. Joseph’s considerable background in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy has informed the development of a neurodiversity-affirming DBT program for autistic clients. Joseph is an international expert and has presented locally and internationally in mental health, forensic psychology, intellectual disability, neurodevelopmental disorders, and evidence-based treatment for clients with complex presentations.
Dr Joseph Sakdalan