Matt Bedell (he/him)

As a late-identified autistic therapist, I bring both clinical training and lived experience to this work. I specialize in supporting autistic adults navigating social exhaustion, masking, and the grief that often accompanies late diagnosis. Anxiety often presents differently for Autism and knowing that makes a huge difference in approach. My approach is neuroaffirming; we work to understand and support your nervous system, not against it.

Social anxiety is my primary clinical focus; the nightly cringes after each event, the exhaustion of performing, the dread before and after social situations, the slow shrinking of your world to feel safe. Using ACT with a shame- and trauma-informed lens, we work the patterns underneath anxiety, not just the symptoms on the surface. I also support clients navigating panic and generalized anxiety, particularly when social fears are at the core.

I hold the ADHD-CCSP certification and work with people 14+, either with or without a confirmed diagnosis. From my view, ADHD isn't just attention; it's a different relationship with time, emotion, and social energy. I help clients understand their nervous system, reduce shame around executive dysfunction, and build a life that works for how they're actually wired.

ACT is my primary treatment modality. Rather than challenging or eliminating difficult thoughts and feelings, we work on changing your relationship with them. The goal isn't to feel less; it's to get good at feeling, rather than always trying to feel good. We loosen the grip of intrusive thoughts and the inner critic so you're making your choices, not them. For social anxiety, this often rebuilds self-trust. For neurodivergent clients, it creates space to feel deeply and respond with kindness.

Inference-Based CBT targets the reasoning process behind anxiety rather than the content of the thought itself. For clients with social anxiety, I-CBT helps identify where imagination and inference have replaced a fuller perception; the "what if..." spiral that feels like certainty, yet is often missing details, not because you're wrong or bad either. Rather than challenging whether a thought is rational, we examine how it was constructed and rebuild trust in your own senses and judgment.

Trauma shapes how we see ourselves, others, and the world; often in ways that made perfect sense at the time. Since our brains are wired for survival, they use those strategies where they may no longer fit. For clients with social anxiety or neurodivergence, unprocessed trauma often sits underneath the patterns we're working to change. We move at your pace, with your nervous system in mind. I'm trained in trauma-focused ACT, EMDR, and work with a trauma- and shame-informed lens.