Hey! I'm so glad you're here.

I'm Kalina, a 36-year-old autistic grad student on my way to becoming a therapist. Sounds pretty straightforward but I wasn't always sure I wanted this career. I don't know if you've noticed, but the mental health system is pretty fucked up - especially where autistic and neurodivergent folk are concerned. For as long as I can remember, I've been passionate about critiquing aspects of the system, from the DSM to lack of informed consent to the ethics of involuntary treatment. 

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I've had my fair share of bad therapy experiences and I'm not alone. So many of us can whip out awful things said and done to us by therapists and other mental health professionals. Most aren't knowledgeable about what autism looks like in adults and, sadly, many can't admit what they don't know. That kind of hubris always ends up causing harm.

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My brain is obsessed with finding what's wrong and that's so useful because there is a lot wrong. But even more important is finding a way forward to what's right. That's why my dream is to come out of grad school ready to create autism-affirming, non-pathologizing, anti-ableist mental healthcare services for autistic and neurodivergent adults. Because we deserve it.

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And because, say it with me: Fuck this shit.