Patricia Lomando (She/her)

Patricia began her career in therapeutic classrooms and juvenile detention centers, devoting over 22 years of her career towards special interest areas of depression, autism, anxiety, self esteem, and parent empowerment. As an RPT-S with certifications in Autplay and Infant Mental Health, she specializes in supporting children and teenagers to find their voice: navigating the struggles of not fitting in, feeling misunderstood, and finding their way to self acceptance. She uses CBT, Solution focused, and Strength based work for all neurotypes within a creative, collaborative, and client led space. Expressive arts and play help clients connect with that space of authentic acceptance. She further incorporates child and parent validating models of Conscious Discipline and Child Parent Relationship Therapy to support parents in coregulating, setting boundaries, learning play therapy skills, and increasing awareness of how the brain/body connection impacts behavior in the whole family.

There is a current movement toward neurodiversity acceptance. We are reframing the concept of “disorders” into varying neurotypes. Every diagnosis is a personality type with gifts and challenges. The way we think, the intensity of our feelings, and the way we respond to things all tend to be found more in certain personality types than others and that is where diagnostic labels come from. We assign labels to identities benefitting from support, and that’s important because it determines the help we are “entitled to” from schools, governments, and insurance companies. However, the side effect can be internalized shame, disconnect, and separation. Society can fail to recognize the importance of presumed competence and available support for all children and adults. As we reframe our understanding of these labels, we reclaim the right to be authentic in whoever we were born to be and are empowered to demand the equality and mutual respect every individual deserves.