Therapy for Autism Burnout in Oregon (for High-Masking Autistic & ADHD Women)

Relational + Expressive Arts Therapy for High‑Masking Autistic & ADHD Women

Provider Identification & Licensure

Lisa Headings, Registered Associate Therapist — Oregon (R9511)
I provide telehealth therapy for adults 18+ located anywhere in Oregon. I practice under clinical supervision in accordance with Oregon licensing requirements.

My practice focuses on autism burnout in high-masking autistic and ADHD women, using relational and expressive arts therapy to support recovery from chronic masking, shutdown, and overwhelm.

Primary Fit Anchor

Autism burnout can feel like exhaustion that never lifts, a sense of shutting down, or the quiet panic of realizing you can’t keep masking at the level you’ve been doing for years. If you’re a late‑diagnosed or self‑identifying autistic or ADHD woman in Oregon, you may be carrying decades of over-adapting, over-performing, and pushing through sensory, emotional, and social overwhelm.

I help high‑masking autistic and ADHD women across Oregon recover from burnout, reduce masking, and reconnect with themselves through relational therapy and expressive arts approaches that don’t rely on talking for the entire session.

What Autism Burnout Can Look Like

Many women I work with describe:

• Feeling mentally and physically drained no matter how much they rest

• Shutdowns, irritability, or emotional numbness

• Difficulty doing basic tasks that used to feel manageable

• Increased sensory overwhelm or social fatigue

• Losing access to words or struggling to articulate needs

• Feeling like you’re “failing at being a person” despite trying so hard

• A sense that your life has become too small, too rigid, or too exhausting

Autism burnout is a state of physical, cognitive, and emotional exhaustion experienced by many autistic people after prolonged masking, sensory overload, and chronic adaptation to neurotypical expectations.

Why High‑Masking Women Are Especially Vulnerable

If you’ve spent years (or decades) masking, you may have learned to:

• Appear fine while feeling overwhelmed

• Push through sensory overload

• Perform socially even when it drains you

• Meet others’ expectations at the cost of your own needs

• Hide your confusion, exhaustion, or shutdowns

Masking works — until it doesn’t.
Burnout is often the moment your body says, “I can’t keep doing this.”

How Therapy Helps With Autism Burnout

Burnout recovery isn’t about “trying harder.” It’s about:

• Understanding what your nervous system has been carrying

• Reducing the pressure to mask

• Rebuilding your life around your actual needs

• Learning to rest without guilt

• Reconnecting with your identity beneath the adaptations

• Creating sustainable routines that don’t drain you

• Finding ways to express yourself that don’t rely on words alone

Therapy gives you a space where you don’t have to perform, explain, or mask.

Why Expressive Arts Therapy Works for Autistic Burnout

You don’t have to talk for 50 minutes straight.

Expressive arts therapy offers gentle, sensory‑aware ways to explore what’s happening inside you — especially when words feel out of reach. Because burnout often disconnects people from internal signals, expressive and sensory-based approaches can sometimes help reconnect with nervous system cues that words alone miss. Sessions may include:

• Drawing, mark‑making, or visual journaling

• Movement or body‑based awareness

• Metaphor, imagery, or symbolic exploration

• Creative processes that help regulate the nervous system

• Nonverbal ways of expressing overwhelm, grief, or identity shifts

You don’t need to be “artistic.”
You don’t need to produce anything “good.”
The process itself is the therapy.

Who I Work With

I specialize in supporting:

• Late-identified autistic women (diagnosed or self‑identifying)

• ADHD women, especially those who mask heavily

• Women navigating late diagnosis or self-discovery

• Those experiencing burnout, shutdown, or chronic overwhelm

• People who feel “behind,” “too much,” or “not enough”

• Those who want therapy that honors neurodivergence rather than trying to fix it

If you’ve been told you’re “high‑functioning,” “resilient,” or “so capable,” but inside you feel exhausted — you’re in the right place.

Strong Match Indicators

Many of the people I work with are high-masking autistic or ADHD women experiencing burnout after years of adapting to environments that didn’t fully support their nervous system or communication style. This therapy may be a strong match if you recognize yourself in experiences like these:

• You’ve spent years masking or appearing “fine” while feeling exhausted inside

• You are a late-identified or self-identified autistic or ADHD woman

• You experience shutdowns, burnout cycles, or periods of losing access to energy or words

• Social interaction and daily demands require far more effort than others seem to realize

• You often feel “too much,” “not enough,” or chronically out of sync with expectations

• Traditional talk therapy has felt too fast, too verbal, or too focused on fixing you

• You want therapy that respects neurodivergence and reduces pressure to perform

What Sessions Are Like

My approach is:

• Relational — grounded in connection, safety, and consent

• Neurodiversity‑affirming — no masking, no performance, no pressure

• Creative — using expressive arts when helpful

• Pace‑honoring — we move slowly, gently, and without urgency

• Body‑aware — noticing sensory cues and nervous system signals

• Shame‑reducing — focusing on compassion, not self‑criticism

Sessions are 50-minute telehealth appointments for adults physically located in Oregon at the time of the session, in accordance with Oregon licensing requirements.

Credentials & Experience

I am a Registered Associate Therapist in Oregon (R9511) practicing under supervision and providing telehealth therapy for adults across the state.

My background includes:

• Training in Expressive Arts Therapy

• Trauma-informed care

• Humanistic and strengths-based therapeutic approaches

Before becoming a therapist, I worked as a special education teacher, where I gained extensive experience supporting neurodivergent individuals in educational settings.

I also bring lived experience as a neurodivergent person, which informs my commitment to creating therapy spaces that reduce shame and support authentic self-understanding.

I continue pursuing training and consultation to deepen my work as a neurodiversity-affirming therapist.

Practical Details

• Format: Telehealth therapy

• Location eligibility: Adults physically located anywhere in Oregon

• Clients: Adults 18+

• Session length: 50 minutes

• Free consultation: 15–20 minute introductory call

• Session fee: $180

• Insurance: Private-pay practice (out-of-network reimbursement may be available depending on your plan)

Is This Work a Good Fit?

This therapy tends to work especially well for people who:

• Realized they may be autistic or ADHD later in life

• Feel exhausted from years of masking

• Experience shutdowns or burnout cycles

• Prefer reflective, slower-paced therapy

• Feel more comfortable expressing through images, movement, or metaphor than constant talking

Not the Right Fit

This work may not be the best fit if you are looking for:

• Crisis or emergency mental health services

• Court-ordered evaluations or documentation

• Therapy for children or adolescents

• Highly structured/manualized treatments only (such as strictly protocol-based CBT)

If you need crisis support, please contact 988 or your local crisis services.

FAQs

What is autism burnout?

A state of physical, emotional, and cognitive exhaustion caused by long‑term masking, sensory overload, and chronic adaptation.

How long does burnout recovery take?

It varies. Many people begin feeling relief within weeks as masking decreases and nervous‑system demands shift.

Do I need a formal diagnosis?

No. Many of my clients are self‑identifying or exploring their neurodivergence.

Do I need to be artistic?

Not at all. Expressive arts therapy is about process, not skill.

Is this telehealth only?

Yes — I work with adults located anywhere in Oregon.

Next Steps

If this feels relevant to your experience, you might also find these pages helpful:

• High-Masking Autism
• ADHD Masking & Identity
• Late Autism Discovery Therapy

You can also:

Learn more about my 1:1 Therapy Services
Learn more about me
Start with the Mini Burnout Reset
Or schedule a free consultation when you're ready.