one-on-one with Julie Bjelland, LMFT

In your session, we can discuss any topic that feels important to you. Common areas include:

• Understanding Your Sensitivity or Neurodivergence: Explore your unique traits as a highly sensitive, autistic, or neurodivergent individual.

• Navigating Challenges: Address issues like overwhelm, burnout, anxiety, or difficulty in relationships.

• Self-Compassion and Identity: Build self-understanding, embrace your neurodivergent identity, and challenge internalized ableism.

• Tools and Strategies: Develop personalized tools to manage sensory sensitivities, regulate emotions, and set healthy boundaries.

• Relationships and Communication: Learn strategies to share your needs, set boundaries, or manage misunderstandings with loved ones.

• Workplace or School Support: Explore self-advocacy and accommodations to thrive in work or educational settings.

• Life Transitions: Navigate changes like a new diagnosis, career shifts, or unmasking.

• Celebrating Strengths: Identify and nurture your unique strengths, sensory joys, and special interests.

This is a safe, supportive space tailored to your needs, where you are free to focus on what matters most to you.

1. Please use headphones or a separate microphone (not the computer mic) for the best audio quality for our sensitive ears.

2. Please turn off all notifications on your phone and devices before the session begins so we can focus best.

3. You’ll want to be alone in a private place for these sessions, free from distractions and interruptions.

4. It’s good to have paper and a pen to take notes on.

5. For consultations, I recommend thinking about what you want to achieve in this session. Have questions written out ahead to make the best use of your time.

Yes! During the sign-up process, you can set up any number of recurring sessions, which is a good idea to hold specific time slots for you.

We accept payments via credit card or PayPal. If necessary, Zelle or Venmo may also be an option—please contact us to discuss these alternatives.

Your payment is processed at the time of booking to secure your appointment and ensure the time is reserved specifically for you.

Appointments must be canceled at least 48 hours before the scheduled time. Please note that cancellations will incur a $50 administrative and processing fee, which covers the time, resources, and credit card processing fees involved.

If you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment, there are no refunds, as we hold this time especially for you and need adequate notice to offer the slot to someone else.

Alternatively, you can reschedule your appointment without incurring any fees. If you have further questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out.

Finding practitioners who truly understand how autism presents in adults, particularly in women, can be challenging. State laws require therapists to provide diagnoses only in the states where they hold a license. My license is in California, so I can offer formal diagnoses to individuals who are physically present in California at the time of the assessment. Residency in California is not required, but you must be located within the state during the assessment process.

I also offer consultations globally to help women explore whether their traits may be autistic. These consultations provide clarity and guidance but do not include a formal diagnosis. For many, this information is sufficient and empowering.

To support as many as possible, I offer the following options:

For those outside of California: I provide global consultations to help determine if your traits align with autism. While this is not a formal diagnosis, my expertise in understanding how autism presents in adults, particularly women, ensures that many find this process valuable and sufficient for their needs.

For those physically present in California: I offer comprehensive Autism Assessments. These assessments lead to a formal diagnosis when all criteria are met.

Important Note: If you require accommodations through a government agency, school, or other institution, it is your responsibility to confirm whether they require a diagnosis from a medical doctor, psychiatrist, or another specific professional. Be sure to check with the institution to ensure this assessment will meet their requirements.

If you don’t see a time that works for you above in the scheduler, please reach out to us here and let us know your preferred days/times, and we can see if we can find something that works.

We will use Zoom Video for assessments. If you book consultations, you can use an audio-only, video, or live written chat session. If you live in the United States and want to do audio-only, we can also talk by phone for consultation sessions. If we work together via Zoom, you will be sent a unique link by email. If you have never used Zoom before, please watch the video below and arrive early to get set up.

Autism assessments include three 45-minute one-on-one sessions. You will book Adult Autism Session 1 first to complete the required paperwork. You will book Adult Autism Assessments 2 and 3 for the remaining sessions.

I provide a simple letter confirming your diagnosis to make the assessment process more affordable. Detailed formal written reports are extensive and time-consuming for practitioners, which significantly increases costs. For most individuals, a simple letter stating the diagnosis is sufficient. However, if you are seeking accommodations through a specific agency, school, or organization, a detailed report may be required, and I do not provide those. It is your responsibility to confirm the specific requirements of the institution to ensure that the simple letter will meet their needs.

Most assessment practitioners in California don't accept insurance, and undergoing a private assessment can range from $5,000 to $10,000. Most of the cost is for the practitioner's work outside sessions, such as scoring assessment measures and writing the report.

In contrast, an assessment with me is $1,125 (the cost of 3 sessions), with some time outside of sessions for me to reflect on the collected data. As no written report is provided at the end of the process, this approach saves you thousands of dollars on your adult autism assessment.

Conducting the assessment in this manner allows me to build a deeper understanding of you over several sessions. This gradual approach fosters a sense of comfort and encourages you to become progressively more authentic in our sessions, a crucial element for accurate identification. The conversations we have during these sessions allow for gathering a more diverse range of data, significantly enhancing the accuracy of identifying autism in adults, especially women.

If you're looking to understand whether you might be Autistic for personal reasons, undergoing an assessment with me is a suitable option. However, if you need a written report for submission to a school or a government agency to secure accommodations or services, in that case, opting for a formal neuropsychological assessment that concludes with a comprehensive written report is advisable. Many colleges mandate an assessment report for accessing accommodations, so ensuring compliance is important.