MASKING & UNMASKING WORKSHOP
With Mona Kay & Jackie Schuld on 4/2 --12:30-2:30PM EST
Are you trying to understand why you or your partner have been "masking" for years? Are you or your partner in the process of “unmasking”? If masking and unmasking are creating a host of mixed feelings...from excitement to confusion, then this workshop is for you!
We all may feel like we are putting on a mask at various times in our lives, however if you are neurodivergent then masking may have kept you safe, enabled you to function at school or work and in many of your relationships. Unfortunately, masking for many years can lead to shutdowns, meltdowns, and/or even burnout. Each of these experiences may be due to attempting to fit into a world that is not neurodivergent friendly. Masking is not only exhausting, it can keep you in an emotionally dysregulated state that can lead to a host of challenges, including anxiety, depression, and physical health problems.
To address how masking and unmasking impacts us individually and in our relationships, I am proud to be co-hosting a live workshop on Zoom on April 2nd from 12:30-2:30PM EST with therapist and AuDHD’er Jackie Schuld. We will be recording this workshop, so if you are not able to join us live we will send you the recording. The workshop investment is ONLY $25 and you can register here.
(Jackie was also a guest on the Neurodiverse Love podcast and you can listen to her episode here.)
The workshop is called "Unmasking and Masking: Why We ALL Need Different Things at Different Times".
This is a workshop for Autistic, neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals who want to learn how to understand and support their own needs and the needs of others they care about or love.
Topics:
• Communication Differences (within close relationships and family)
• Emotional Differences
• Sensory Differences (including physical and sexual)
• Processing/Thinking Differences
• Socializing Differences
• 30 min for Q+A at end
Jackie is a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT), Board Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC), and Mental Health Health Counselor (LPC) and an autistic and ADHD human. She didn't learn about her neurodivergence until she was in her 30's and already a therapist.
Jackie works with newly identified autistics and those who suspect they might be autistic. She helps autistics who have felt broken their entire lives and who have experienced a lifetime of feeling too much and yet not enough, who couldn’t learn to trust themselves, because they believed something was wrong with them
NEURODIVERSE COUPLES SUPPORT GROUP STARTS ON APRIL 11th
Join me for the next Neurodiverse Couples Support Group that will begin meeting on Thursday, April 11th at 7:30PM EST (US). We will meet weekly for 90 minutes on Zoom for 4 weeks (4/11, 4/18, 4/25 and 5/2).
Do you want to meet other neurodiverse couples who will understand some of the challenges and misunderstandings you and your partner are experiencing?
Do you want to understand why you have such different communication styles and work on making improvements together?
Do you want to find ways to feel emotionally balanced in your relationship?
Do you want to have more fun socializing together and with others?
Are you confused when your partner doesn't understand your needs?
Do you need more time and space to make decisions or process discussions with your partner?
Do you often feel like your partner misunderstands your words or actions?
Are you so focused on what isn't working in your relationship that you have forgotten how to be loving and kind to each other?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to join the next Neurodiverse Love Couples Support Group that I will be facilitating.
During our group meetings you and your partner will learn that you are not alone in experiencing the challenges and misunderstandings that you may be having, and you will hear from other couples who are dealing with similar issues. You will also learn how to better understand each other's differences and appreciate each other's strengths and how to make shifts in your perspective and changes in the way you connect with each other that can lead to beneficial changes in your mixed neurotype relationship. During the support group we will address many topics including differences in communication, emotional needs, sensory sensitivities, social batteries and physical intimacy,
The cost for each couple to participate in the support group is ONLY $199 for all four sessions and you can register here.
In addition, everyone in the group will recive a free digital deck of the Neurodiverse Love Conversation Cards ($11 value) and the digital version of the Neurodiverse Love GPS Guidebook (which is not available for sale).
COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP RECORDING AVAILABLE
The recording of the Communication Workshop that I co-facilitated with Greg Fuqua, LMHC is now available. Greg was my guest co-host for Season 5 and has returned to be my guest co-host for Season 7 of the Neurodiverse Love podcast. Our workshop is titled "Strategies and Tools for Increasing Healthy and Respectful Communication in Your Neurodiverse Relationship".
During this recorded workshop we guide you through the information, tools, and strategies that can help you and your partner communicate more effectively in your mixed neurotype relationship.
Greg identifies as Autistic, is a Certified AANE Neurodiverse Couples Counselor, a Certified Autism Specialist, and is in a mixed neurotype marriage. I am a social worker, identify as ADHD, was in a mixed neurotype marriage for 30 years, and have dated many neurodivergent men.
We both understand how critically import healthy, respectful communication is in a Neurodiverse Love relationship and we have made our share of mistakes in our own relationships, while also working hard to gain a better understanding of what we can do to improve communication in our neurodiverse relationships.
The workshop is ONLY $97 and you can click here to buy access to the recording.The topics we address in the workshop include:
1. Rituals of Communication
2. Healthy Communication Structures
3. Reciprocity and Turn Taking
4. Perspective Taking and Conflict Resolution
5. Tools for Communicating Changes Wanted and Needed
When you purchase the workshop you will also receive a communication workbook and a discount code to buy the following items for ONLY $1 each:
1 Digital version of the Neurodiverse Love Conversation Cards ($11 value)
2 Digital version of the Neurodiverse Love Conversation Card Workbook ($12.97 value)
MIXED NEUROTYPE SUPPORT GROUP MEETS ONCE A MONTH
Every month I am co-facilitating a support group with Jodi Carlton called "Navigating Decisions and Choices in Your Neurodiverse Relationship". The cost is ONLY $25 per session and this is a "mixed neurotype" group for individuals ONLY, not couples.
Sometimes it can be SO helpful to hear the perspectives of people with the same and different neurotypes as you move forward on making decisions in your neurodiverse relationship.
We offer 2 groups on the first Wednesday of the month, so if interested, each partner can attend at different times. The support group meetings are 90 minutes and are held at 12:30pm EST and 6:30pm EST and you can register at: https://jodicarlton.com/groups/
With gratitude,
Mona Kay, MSW, Ph.D.