Working Therapeutically with Autistic and ADHD Children and Adolescents

A Practical 2-Day Live Online CPD Training for Clinicians

Live on Zoom: 5th & 6th November
Time: 9:30am – 4:00pm (both days)
Replay Access: Available for 8 weeks
Delivered by: Dr Floriana Reinikis & Dr Sirja van Zyl

Many clinicians working with autistic and ADHD children and young people recognise a familiar clinical reality: even when evidence-informed interventions are delivered competently, outcomes can vary, and thoughtful adaptation is often required to ensure therapy is truly effective, accessible, and meaningful for neurodivergent clients.

This practical two-day live online training is designed to support exactly that process of clinical refinement.

The training draws on evidence-informed therapeutic approaches and selected coaching-informed principles to provide practical ways of adapting work with autistic, ADHD and AuDHD children and young people.

Through case discussions, clinical examples, and practical demonstrations, the training focuses on translating theory into nuanced, real-world application that you can immediately integrate into your work. Examples may draw from approaches such as CBT, ACT and emotion-regulation work, alongside formulation, psychoeducation, parent work and selected coaching-informed strategies.

This training has been developed from many years of clinical practice, informed by current evidence and shaped through close work with neurodivergent children, young people and their families. The content has also been refined through what young people and parents have told us about what has, and has not, felt helpful in therapeutic work.

What The Training Will Cover

• Establishing the therapeutic framework: identifying the focus of the work, considering who the client is, involving parents and carers appropriately, developmental considerations, contracting and structuring sessions.
• Confidence in adapting interventions for autistic and ADHD children and young people
• Therapy, coaching and formulation: considering what type of support may be needed and how therapeutic and coaching-informed approaches can complement one another.
• Working therapeutically with autistic children and adolescents: practical, neurodiversity-affirming adaptations and strategies illustrated through clinical examples.
• Working therapeutically and using coaching-informed strategies with children and adolescents with ADHD: including consideration of executive functioning, self-regulation and everyday functioning.
• Working with AuDHD presentations: considering how autistic and ADHD characteristics may interact and what this can mean for formulation and intervention.
• Working collaboratively with parents, carers and wider systems: considering how change may sometimes require work beyond the therapy room.
• Clinician fatigue and feeling stuck: exploring how working with complex neurodivergent presentations can sometimes leave clinicians feeling uncertain, depleted or unsure how best to move forward.

Resource Pack Included

All participants will receive a clinical resource pack designed to support application of the learning in everyday practice.

The resources have been developed and refined through clinical work with neurodivergent children, young people and their families and will include a selection of:

• practical therapeutic tools and templates
• psychoeducational resources
• worksheets for children, young people and families
• coaching-informed resources that can be used appropriately within clinical practice
• materials that can be adapted across different therapeutic settings

The resources are intended to support participants in translating the principles discussed during the training into their own work.

Who Is This Training For?

This training is intended primarily for qualified mental health professionals and clinicians whose existing professional role involves therapeutic or psychologically informed work with children, young people and families.

This may include clinical, counselling, educational psychologists, psychotherapists, therapists, counsellors, mental health nurses, occupational therapists and other appropriately qualified practitioners.

Professionals working in coaching or related roles may also find aspects of the training relevant, but participants should only apply therapeutic or coaching approaches that fall within their own professional training and scope of practice.

Professional scope of practice

This training is intended as continuing professional development. Attendance does not confer a professional qualification or professional title as a therapist, psychotherapist, counsellor or coach, and does not extend a participant’s existing scope of practice. Participants should apply the approaches and strategies discussed only within the boundaries of their existing professional training, competence and role.

Dr Sirja van Zyl’s Bio

Dr Sirja Van Zyl is a Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years’ experience working with children and young people across NHS, independent and specialist mental health settings. She has a particular interest in the assessment and support of autistic children and young people, ADHD, tics and Tourette’s Syndrome, mental health difficulties and complex functional presentations. Throughout her career, Sirja has developed extensive expertise in neurodevelopmental assessment, formulation, and therapeutic intervention, with a focus on understanding each young person within their individual context. She is also involved in research, and is currently jointly supervising a DClinPsy research project exploring secondary burnout in clinicians working with autistic young people.

Sirja has held senior clinical roles within NHS mental health and neurodevelopmental services, including CAMHS and the role of Pathway Lead within an NHS neurodevelopmental service. She is Co-Founder and Co-Director of Kent Psychologist and Clinical Lead for the Autism and ADHD assessment team, where she has developed a high-quality, compassionate, and neuroaffirmative assessment and post-diagnostic support service.

Alongside her clinical practice, Sirja has developed a range of specialist support programmes, including post-diagnostic parent support and a ‘Support for Schools’ programme. She works closely with schools to increase understanding of Autism and ADHD, promote neuroaffirmative practice, and help educational settings create environments where neurodivergent children and young people can thrive. Sirja regularly delivers supervision, training, and presentations to healthcare professionals, schools, families, conferences and charitable organisations. Sirja’s therapeutic work draws on a range of evidence-informed therapeutic models, including CBT, ACT, EMDR, CBIT, and systemic approaches. She is passionate about adapting these models thoughtfully when working with neurodivergent clients, ensuring that interventions are accessible, individualised, and aligned with neurodiversity-affirming principles.