This week we talk to Cynthia Spleen, aka @plasticmessiah, about self expression. Cynthia is a neuroqueer Mauritian creative based in Naarm. They identify as an autistic and nonbinary person, and have been drawing obsessively since they first picked up a pencil. Cynthia paints, makes music and comics, tattoos, writes, and performs.
 
We chat with Cynthia about identity and labels, fashion, creativity, unmasking, the centrality of interest and passion in their life, family relationships, and what is involved in a ‘light exorcism’. This was such a powerful conversation about the importance of self expression and the deep need for immersion in art and creativity that many ND people experience!
 
Check out Cynthia’s website here: www.cynthiaspleen.com or find them on socials @plasticmessiah
 
Want polished copies of our episodes in pdf article format? Grab them here.
 
Thanks for listening to the show! We will be back with Season 5 in February 2024. You can stay in touch over the season break by following us on Facebook and Instagram, or by joining our Patreon community. Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts for Season 4, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
 
Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Self Expression with Cynthia Spleen

A podcast for neurodivergent women, hosted by clinical psychologist Monique Mitchelson and clinical neuropsychologist Michelle Livock. Covering Autism to ADHD and everything in between, we aim to educate and inspire women who think differently.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

In this week's episode we chat about compassionate practice. We have both been super keen to do an episode on compassion for a while now, given compassion is a core tenant of our practice. In this ep we went through some of the core features of compassion, how this can be used therapeutically, and developing self-compassion. We loved putting this episode together for you!
 
We cover:

What is compassion and what are the benefits of compassionate practice?
What does it mean to be in an active state of compassion.
How compassion fits into the ‘haunted house’ of our brain.
Working with the inner critic.
Compassionate practice and neurodivergence.
Strategies for compassionate practice and for activating a state of ‘rest’ in our nervous system.

 
Resources on compassionate practice:

The Compassionate Mind – by Paul Gilbert
Fierce Self Compassion – by Kristen Neff
Online compassion quiz 
Preorder Monique’s book - The Neurodivergence Skills Workbook for Autism and ADHD: Cultivate Self-Compassion, Live Authentically, and Be Your Own Advocate. 
Access Michelle’s three part course on compassionate practice exclusively through our Patreon (‘Buy us a Wine’ tier).
Check out the study Monique mentioned mentioned on Autism and self compassion. 

 
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here. 
 
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Compassionate Practice

Today on the show Monique interviews Rebecca Gannon. Rebecca is a Neurodivergent Psychologist with a Masters in Educational and Developmental Psychology. Their clinical work focuses on Autism and ADHD assessment for adults as well as supervising other Psychologists and allied health professionals in neuroaffirming practice skills. Rebecca is Aboriginal, a parent, a partner, and their long-standing special interest just happens to be Autism.
 
On this episode Monique and Rebecca cover:

Rebecca’s experience of her own neurodivergence, including the pivotal role of community as part of a healthy self-identity + the importance of understanding all aspects of your neurodivergent identity.
The importance of advocacy based on lived experience and community consultation when providing support services to people with a minority identity.
The Minority Stress Model.
Rebecca’s experience of having both Aboriginal and neurodivergent minority identities.
Ways to psychological safety for minority group members in health care settings.
Rebecca’s experience navigating the health care system as an ND parent of a child with complex health needs.
Heavy Metal Music (it’s relevant, we promise!).

 
 
Things we mentioned:

Literature on ABA 
The Australian Indigenous Psychology Association.  
Another Day in the Colony – book by Chelsea Watego
Find out more about Dr Tracey Westerman here. 

 
You can contact Rebecca through her website, Kaleidoscope Assessment or on Instagram @kaleidoscopeassessment.
 
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here. 
 
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minority Stress with Rebecca Gannon

In this week’s episode we are thrilled to chat to Michelle Marques about her experience with depression and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, plus a million other things. Michelle is an Autistic and ADHD writer with a background in journalism and a Master’s in African American studies. Her writing and research focuses on gender, sexuality, race, neurodiversity, and pop culture. 
 
We chat about:
 

Michelle’s experience of learning about her neurodivergence and the hidden cost of ADHD for high achievers.
Codeswitching, the privilege of authenticity, and intersecting identities as an Autistic person and as a cultural minority.
Michelle’s experience of depression and how she differentiates between depression and burnout as a neurodivergent person.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.
Things Michelle has found helpful for managing her mental health.

 
You can find Michelle’s writing on her Substack “Neurodivergent Black Girl” and you can follow her on Instagram @michellemar.ques. 
 
Update! An American psychologist has reached out and let us know that TMS can be covered by Medicare in some cases in the USA. Here's some more information on that. 
 
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here. 
 
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Depression and TMS with Michelle Marques

This week on the podcast Monique interviews the incredible Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro. Josie is a late identified Autistic ADHDer. She is a Principal Research Fellow and Psychologist at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne. She is the Research Director of Identification and Diagnosis of Autism, and Clinical Director of the Victorian Early Assessment Clinic, providing neuro-affirming, transdisciplinary assessments for neurodivergence in children under 3 years. Josie’s research interests are in the early identification and diagnosis of Autism, family health and well-being following a diagnosis, and Neurodiversity Affirming research and practice.
 
In this episode Monique and Josie cover:
 

Josie’s path to understanding her own neurodivergence.
The heritability of neurodivergence and the importance of taking a whole-family approach to supporting neurodivergent kids.
Josie’s work on early identification of Autism and the development of the SACS early identification screening tool and the ASDectect app.
Josie’s research and work into closing the gender gap in early diagnosis of Autism.
Why early identification is so important and addressing concerns parents can have around ‘labelling’.
How to share a diagnosis of Autism with your child.
Debunking the myths around overdiagnosis of Autism.

 
Things we mentioned:
 

The Victorian Early Assessment Clinic.
The SACS early identification screening tool training
The ASDectect app
Conversation article co-written by Josie and Marie Camin on talking to your child about their diagnosis. 
Conversation article co-written by Josie and Dr Nancy Sadka debunking the myth around overdiagnosis of Autism. 
Books to use as a conversation starter to introduce neurodivergence to a child include The Brain Forest and The Rainbow Brain, both by Sandyha Menon, and Round World Square Me by Chelsea Luker. 

 
You can contact Josie via email at veac@latrobe.edu.au or find her on her socials here.
 
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here. 
 
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Early Identification with Josephine Barbaro

A note to our listeners: In this episode we chat about self-harm. Some of our listeners may prefer to skip this one. 
 
Happy Monday! In today’s episode Monique interviews Joanne Seymon; AuDHDer Occupational Therapist, and co-founder of Kaiko Fidgets. Jo is passionate about developing appropriate sensory tools for teens and adults, with a focus on harm minimisation and emotional regulation. She uses both her lived experience and her background in occupational therapy to match sensory needs to the right sensory support. In this episode Jo shares some personal details about her son Kai’s mental health journey, and Kai has given his consent for these details to be shared.
 
In this episode Monique and Jo cover:
 

How Kaiko Fidgets came to be and Jo’s path to diagnosis and understanding her own neurodivergence.
What actually is ‘Occupational Therapy’ (OT) and how can OTs work with neurodivergent folk?
Different sensory needs and ideas around supporting sensory regulation.
When pain is used as a regulator – Jo’s approach to this and some options for harm minimisation.
Understanding and managing the cumulative effect of sensory load.

 
 
Find Jo on her website (www.kaikofidgets.com), through her socials (@kaikofidgets), or reach out to her via email (jo@kaikofigets.com)  
 
Want polished copies of our episodes in beautiful and readable pdf article format? Grab them here. 
 
Enjoyed the episode and want to support us further? Join our Patreon community! Patreon subscribers receive basic episode transcripts from Season 4 onwards, access to a monthly live zoom hang out, 50% off our episode articles, plus bonus monthly content (depending on subscription tier). Check out our Patreon page to support us, as we aim to make quality mental health care information accessible to everyone: www.patreon.com/ndwomanpod.
 
Contact us at ndwomanpod@gmail.com, or visit our website: www.ndwomanpod.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Self Expression with Cynthia Spleen

Download our free app to listen on your phone