How Autistic Clients Reclaim Their Creative Power in Therapy
- Catherine Flynn
- Sep 17
- 4 min read
This post is an exploration based on Pillar seven of Autistic Culture as described in the Autistic Culture podcast by Dr. Angela Kingdon.
When autistic clients first come to therapy, I often wonder about their relationship with creativity: I don't mean in the sense of 'arts & crafts' creativity, but autistic creativity (which comes in many, many forms). Therapists aren't supposed to have an agenda in therapy, but I have to admit that I do have a particular agenda when it comes to this pillar of autistic culture. My aim is to create the optimum environment for this aspect to be explored. I make no apologies in this – it is so important. I think of 'boldly creating' as the food that feeds autistic brains.
I want, through therapeutic relationship, to create an incredibly powerful portal for autistic people to step into new territories - to 'boldly go' and explore the universe of creative possibility in ways that usual everyday 'talking therapy' doesn't.
So how does this work in what I offer? Here are some thoughts that I’ll put out there…
Creating the Environment
1. Stimming together
What I see: Client may start sessions in a way that suppresses their natural impulse to move or anchor through stimming.
What I do: I fidget with my needoh cube while listening. I'm not your everyday therapist! I explicitly offer a basket of fidgets and we boldly create a different way of interacting. We don't have to have eye contact. We can enjoy the experience of stimming and talking. I also write during sessions and this may encourage clients to also write in their phones or on paper, a different way to support processing and remembering key points during the session.
2. Being unmasked autistic
What they expect: Clients may start sessions thinking that a counsellor should be a certain way, asking 'how do you feel about that', or creating lots of space for you to reflect. Being sort of controlled and 'grounded'.
What I do: I clap when I'm excited – sometimes I'm not grounded and that's ok! I enthuse about any passion of yours that I see knocking at the door. I might throw in a random fact that I've just discovered. Through being my authentic autistic self, it opens up the potential for you to see that it's also ok for you to be you. And that can pave the way towards creative self-expression.
Excavating Hidden Creativity
3. Boldly excavating creative worlds
What I see: Decades of natural creative drives often buried under neurotypical expectations of how to be in the world.
The bold way forward: We go through portals of the past and ask 'what were you really drawn to?' We find and remove the layers of masking bit by bit. Star Trek therapy beams us up onto different planets, but the planets exist in past memories and also in the nuances of everyday life. That's where the glimmers of one's autistic creative self live and often hide in plain sight.
What emerges: Rich inner creative worlds that have been kept completely hidden - elaborate mental constructions, private systems, passions, unique ways of being.
The revelation: This "hidden" creativity is often the most profound therapeutic material.
The transformation: From exhausting performance to energising authentic expression.
Reframing Natural Behaviours
4. Reframing "symptoms" as natural life force
Old story: Echolalia, visual stimming, object arrangement, spreadsheet fanaticism, repeating routines etc. are problems to fix.
New story: These are sophisticated creative self-expression and regulation systems.
The practice: We explore how these natural tendencies become conscious tools for emotional processing and self-care - turning them into 'islands of regulation' that support wellbeing.
This reframing represents a fundamental shift in how we understand autistic behaviours, moving from pathology to recognising them as ingenious adaptive strategies and forms of creative expression.
The Moment Everything Changes
There's always a profound moment when a client realises their natural way of being isn't just acceptable - it's valuable.
I cannot tell you the number of times that I have travelled universes with clients and it isn't long before we have discovered their unique planets where bold creation can grow. On these planets there is always specificity, facts, richness, depth… why whale sharks are called whale sharks, the migration of eels to the Sargasso sea, how light and colour informs shooting film, why arranging furniture in rooms online is so satisfying, how gruesome diseases take hold, the many ways people can die from animal attacks, the beauty of ancient calligraphy fonts.
Why This Matters Beyond Therapy
When autistic clients reclaim their capacity for bold creating, they don't just heal - they become forces for cultural change. They start:
• Advocating for their needs at work
• Creating authentic connections in relationships
• Contributing their unique perspectives to communities
The journey back to bold creating after decades of masking isn't just therapeutic recovery - it's creative renaissance.
And the world desperately needs to witness and celebrate what happens when autistic people are free to create boldly again.
Go to my Substack if you'd like to comment on what creative expressions have you had to hide or suppress? What would it look like to reclaim them? #autistic #actuallyautistic #audhd #autistictherapist #autisticcounsellor #autistictherapistbristol #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neuroaffirmative
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