ACCA June Lunch & Learn Webinar - Grief Between the Lines: Ambiguous Grief and Late Diagnosed Neurodivergent Adults

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Thursday, June 19th - 1pm-2pm EST

1 CE for NBCC

Title: 

Grief Between the Lines: Ambiguous Grief and Late Diagnosed Neurodivergent Adults

Presenters:

Kelly Timmins

Kelly Timmins is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, with a strong foundation in trauma-informed, relational, and systems-based approaches to care. She currently serves as an intern at the Cornell Counseling Clinic, providing individual counseling to undergraduate students with an emphasis on mindfulness and identity-affirming practices. Throughout her graduate degree, Kelly has co-facilitated courses on multicultural counseling, family systems, and mindful activism. Her passion for counseling centers on topics including sexual and neurodivergent identity development, ambiguous grief, and internal systems. Kelly has presented at local, regional and national conferences, including this year’s ACA Conference in Orlando, FL, and was named a 2025 Emerging Leader by the American College Counseling Association.

Abstract:

This session will explore ambiguous grief in late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults (grief rooted in missed support, masking, and identity loss). Attendees will learn neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed strategies integrating IFS, ACT, and mindfulness. Emphasis will be placed on sequencing bottom-up (somatic/sensory) and top-down (narrative/cognitive) interventions to support emotional regulation, insight, and identity integration. Supervisors will gain practical tools to help mental health professionals support neurodivergent clients in processing grief, rebuilding self-concept, and fostering resilience after diagnosis.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how to identify and validate ambiguous grief in late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults.
• Participants will learn to apply IFS, ACT, and mindfulness-based strategies alongside sequencing bottom-up and top-down interventions to support client identity integration, emotional regulation, and self-empowerment.
• Participants will learn how to integrate elements of IDM and Trauma-Informed supervision frameworks to better support mental health professionals working with ND clients navigating ambiguous grief.