is a group of licensed professionals.
We meet weekly to support the continuous adaption of our practice to PDA affirming approaches. It was birthed from a simple idea: That professional practice grows in community.
Our Story
We specialize in work with the PDA profile of Autism and came together in October of 2023 to strengthen our PDA practice approaches. We invite you into our conversations about PDA affirming care.
Become a paid subscriber and be a part of this high concept community.
We can answer practice questions both in individual consults and through questions asked from our contact form. We share the “Guide to PDA relational practice”, Coffee and Connection and Clinical Discussions as a means to enrich your professional development. Think of us as your colleagues down the hall committed to PDA best practices and lean on our experience. Welcome to The PDA Therapy Collaborative.
Become A Paid Subscriber for access to:
“Coffee and Connection and Clinical Conversations”.
The PDA Therapy Collaborative invites you into our conversations about ongoing practice adaption. We share our nuanced views and practical insight on PDA education, therapy and evaluation. We host online Clinical Discussion and collegial Coffee and Connection. Find our Fall Schedule posted on our site.
“Guidebook to PDA Relational Practice” and “Beyond Low Demand”
Elise’s “Guidebook to PDA Relational Practice” offers professional descriptions of adapted therapy built on PDA strengths. “Beyond Low Demand” was taught live online to professionals and will be released from Beta into a module on demand format. It offers descriptions of common pain points in PDA families that validate realities, provides strength-based descriptions of care and articulates the methods that can be used to build everyday demand engagement.
Ask us your PDA practice questions in multiple ways!
We don’t support case questions, but we can help you conceptualize your work to create PDA affirming practice.
Meet Elise Jacobson, LICSW
Elise is a Social Worker specializing in the PDA profile of autism. She founded a national case consultation group with assistance from PDA North America which has now become the PDA Therapy Collaborative.
Elise is a graduate of Brandeis and Yeshiva university, a PDA parent and newly identified PDA adult.
With her family’s encouragement she runs her own private full time therapy practice and uses her 34 years of experience to mentor and provide clinical consults to PDA practice professionals.
She builds collaboration with providers through mentoring and teaching so that there is wider access to PDA affirming care. She writes, guest lectures and presents on accommodating PDA. Elise recently presented for PDA North America and the Massachusetts Association for Gifted Children at Harvard’s School of Education. She spoke at the Massachusetts Federation for Children with Special Needs annual conference. Elise recently taught “Beyond Low Demand”: A Practice Approach, with her colleague and friend Dr. Julie DeFilippo. She is an Adjunct Professor of Social Work at Smith College teaching neurodiversity in the practice space.
Elise brings to therapy spaces a deep focus on personal meaning making as a foundation for autonomy and demand engagement. She meets many PDA parents looking for a village to raise their children and looks to connect families to one another. Elise believes strongly in the power of supportive community to strengthen individual growth.
Meet Haley Bring, LCSW
A clinical social worker and the owner of Life Pathways Therapy in Indianapolis, IN. Haley completed her graduate training from University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work. Haley has been working with neurodivergent children, teens, adults, and family systems since 2014. The passion to connect and support neurdivergent individuals stems largely to herself and her family tree being a part of this community.
Haley deeply values utilizing attachment-based and relational therapeutic techniques in her work, and she has completed level 1 and 2 of PDANA training.
In addition to psychotherapy, with having a background in special education and school social work, she assists families with parent coaching and IEP navigation support. Outside of her formal professional work, Haley loves to learn and support disability justice and advocacy initiatives.
Meet Megan Agee, MA, LPA
Megan is a psychologist (LPA) and the founder of Velaris Psychological Services in Charlotte, NC. A neuroaffirming approach is her main jam in this life.
She provides neuropsychological evaluations to identify and accommodate PDA as well as general neuropsychological functioning and learning capabilities. She also provides psychotherapy and PDA parent coaching support.
Through a mix of lived experience (a houseful of PDAers!) and professional training, she provides a unique blend of compassionate and authentic skill-based approaches with some real-life perspectives on the day-to-day challenges.
Meet Bryenne Alesch, M.ed
Bryenne is a neurodivergent (ADHD suspected PDA AuDHD) mama of two amazing neurodivergent kids, aged 15 and 17. In her role at Elite Cognition in Madison WI she wears many hats including Director of Operations and Mental Health Professional which feeds her need to be doing more than one thing at a time. “Oh look, sparklies!” As an educator (17 years WI public schools), community mental health provider (past 6 years), advocate, trainer, consultant, psychoeducator and coach she has a passion for working with and alongside neurodivergent folks, PDAers and their families.
After stumbling across the PDA profile (May of 2019) and seeing the parallels of behavioral communication in her personal and professional life, Bryenne developed a special interest related to the world of PDA and took a deep dive that continues today. She truly believes in and lives the phrase, “it takes a village.” There is value and significance in each of us.
She brings life experience, sensitivity, innovation, problem-solving, positivity, and a strength-based approach to her practice. She is driven to support systemic change surrounding the lens through which we look at neurodivergent people, anxiety and challenging behavior (especially for children) via direct work with individuals and larger systems such as local schools. Bryenne helps others understand diagnoses, manage symptoms, create and implement supports/coping mechanisms, finding/connecting to resources while breaking down/challenging ableist barriers.
As a clinician and educator, Bryenne is in awe of the amazing professionals devoted to the PDA population within the therapy profession. The United States is lagging knowledge in this area, leading to a lack of professionals who can work together collaboratively sharing their knowledge, experiences via case
collaboration and seeking best practices. Bryenne is grateful to have found camaraderie in the other members of the PDA Therapy Collaborative and looks forward to their continued work. She hopes other professionals
will join us on this journey.
Meet Melinda:
Melinda Stewart, MSW, LICSW is a member of the PDA Therapy Collaborative serving as a clinical mentor and advisor.
Melinda joined our group to find her own PDA professional community. She continues to provide therapy to PDA young adults she met as children.
She is a retired Director of Counseling at The Groton School, founder of Voyagers a home school cooperative for gifted children, a former educator of multiple subjects and a former staff member of The Stone Center at Wellesley College and McLean Hospital.
She has advanced clinical training in psychodynamic therapy, substance abuse counseling, trauma therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), parent guidance and cross-cultural counseling.
She is a frequent presenter on topics relating to gifted education and counseling and has written and presented extensively on giftedness as it affects child development.
Melinda shares: “I am passionate about working with people for whom the “usual” isn’t enough. Those who are “many ages at once” present a challenge that I particularly enjoy.”
Meet Jenna Cacciola, PsyD, HSPP
Jenna is a clinical psychologist and the founder of Uncovering Invisible Strengths, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana. She earned a doctorate (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Indianapolis.
Jenna provides psychological evaluations for children, teens, and adults to identify their strengths, learning capabilities, interests and overall functioning to inform supports and accommodations. Such evaluations include, but are not limited to, identifying the PDA profile of Autism.
Jenna values relational and collaborative approaches throughout the assessment process. She hopes that through the assessment process, individuals and their families gain a deeper sense of understanding and healing, and feel more confident letting others know what they need and challenging ableist structures/barriers to move toward authenticity, joy, and their hopes and dreams.
Jenna is grateful to be in community with the other members of the PDA Therapy Collaborative to continually deepen her understanding of PDA, and in turn to further enhance her connection and collaboration with the individuals and families with whom she is humbled to have the opportunity to walk alongside.
Meet Dr. Jessica Myszak
Dr. Jessica Myszak is a Chicago-area psychologist who specializes in neurodiversity-affirming autism assessment for both children and adults. She founded the Help and Healing Center, a private psychology practice which offers in-person and telehealth evaluations in many states across the US. She has developed a niche in less-typical presentations of autism, including PDA, autism in women, and high-masking adults. She also provides educational content on social media about these topics.
Dr. Myszak completed her graduate training from Indiana University and her internship and post-doc with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She has worked in a variety of settings, and she loves supporting clients and their families and helping them understand themselves better. She frequently presents on PDA and assessment with PDA North America. While Dr. Myszak played a key role as an early collaborator, she has stepped back temporarily to attend to personal matters.
Meet Dr. Julie Bolduc DeFilippo, PhD, MSW, LICSW
Julie (she/her) is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker based in Massachusetts, where she works with neurodivergent and PDA individuals of all ages as well as their caregivers in her private practice, JMBD Therapy & Consultation.
In addition to her clinical work, Julie also serves as a full-time high school social worker, supporting adolescents and families within the public school system.
Her clinical and academic interests lie at the intersection of disability, trauma, and systemic marginalization, with a strong focus on neurodivergent and PDA affirming care. A passionate advocate and educator, Julie provides consultation to IEP teams, schools, and professionals on PDA-informed supports. She also brings lived experience as a parent of children with high caregiving needs, which informs her compassionate, relational approach to working with families.
Julie holds a PhD in Social Work from Simmons University and has served as a professor at Schools of Social Work across the Greater Boston area, including Boston College, Simmons University, Salem State University, and Merrimack College and is also a frequent presenter at regional and national conferences.
Outside of clinical practice, Julie can be found participating in local and state child advocacy, running, writing, thrifting, and spending time with her family, including their beloved cats!
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