MAKE SPACE FOR LIFE TO GET BETTER

People with autism have important strengths. But these strengths can be masked by real struggles. You may find it hard to relate to others or feel like they can relate to you. You may find much of society confusing or lacking in understanding and compassion. You may struggle in situations such as school, work, or dating. Therapy for folks with autism is often focused on anxiety, self-esteem, depression, and relationships.

Autism can make it challenging to lead the life you truly want, and it can be hard to find hope. Therapy can help you gain useful coping strategies, emotional support, deeper self-acceptance, and practical techniques for improving your communication and social skills. Through a combination of relational, behavioral, and strengths-based approaches, therapy can help you reach your goals, deepen your sense of well-being, and build a richer, more satisfying life.

*Dr. Jason Peirce is the Program Director for PEERS® Denver, an Evidence-Based Social Skills Program.

For more information, please visit PEERSDenver.com

Finding and maintaining healthy, satisfying relationships is one of life's great challenges. You may find it difficult to stay on good terms with family members, friends, people at work, or romantic partners. You may find yourself falling into similar patterns and habits in your relationships without knowing why. You may struggle with vulnerability or intimacy in your close relationships.

Relationship struggles can be incredibly upsetting and demoralizing, and it can be hard to find hope. Therapy can help you better understand your relationship struggles, so you can change your patterns and nurture relationships that are healthy, fun, and fulfilling. We can work to improve the relationships you already have, or we can work on finding you new, different relationships that feel better for you.

Anxiety may be focused on one specific thing, or it may be more generalized. You may feel uncomfortable in social situations, at work, or at school, possibly to the point where you avoid these situations altogether. You may suffer from panic attacks. At times, you may feel like you aren’t in control, things won’t work out, or you’ll fail in some important way.

Anxiety can be distressing and exhausting, even debilitating, and it can be hard to find hope. Through a combination of relational, behavioral, and strengths-based approaches, therapy for anxiety can help you reach your goals, deepen your sense of well-being, and build a richer, more satisfying life.

Depression may be a long-term struggle, or it could be new and sudden. You may feel stuck in depression, or you may find yourself moving between periods of depression and relief seemingly without rhyme or reason. You may feel depressed about something important and specific, or you may feel depressed without really knowing why.

Depression can sap our lives of energy and meaning, and it can be hard to find hope. Through a combination of relational, behavioral, and strengths-based approaches, therapy for depression can help you reach your goals, deepen your sense of well-being, and build a richer, more satisfying life.

Self-esteem is a term that describes your relationship with yourself. Specifically, it refers to your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about yourself. Often it can be very closely related to other important ideas, like self-confidence, self-image, and self-worth.

Low self-esteem can make it feel like we’re holding ourselves back or keeping ourselves down, and it can be hard to find hope. Therapy can help you nurture a healthy relationship with yourself by developing self-compassion and self-acceptance, strengthening your self-confidence, and helping you build a richer, more satisfying life.

Grief is a complicated experience of reckoning with a meaningful and personal loss, for example, the loss of someone close to you, an important relationship, a job, or physical health and ability. The grieving process can be confusing and hectic, even debilitating. You may feel that life is just different now, and it’s hard to know how to move forward. Socially, you may feel disconnected in some way because others don’t seem to understand what you’re going through. You may find all the various experiences of the grieving process to be unpredictable, exhausting, or lasting longer than you expected.

Grief and loss can flip our entire world upside down, and it can be hard to find hope. Through a combination of relational, behavioral, and strengths-based approaches, therapy for grief can help you process your experiences in a healthy way, deepen your sense of well-being, and build a richer, more satisfying life.

Whether trauma happened recently or in the more distant past, the impact on you could be the same. Common symptoms of trauma often include mood swings, feeling emotionally numb, feeling on “high alert,” being easily startled, dissociation, trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping, panic attacks, nightmares, or flashbacks.

Trauma can flood our lives with apprehension and chaos, and it can be hard to find hope. Through a combination of relational, behavioral, and strengths-based approaches, trauma therapy can help you reach your goals, deepen your sense of well-being, and build a richer, more satisfying life.