NEURODIVERGENT ATTACHMENT: WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS AND COUPLES, DIVERSE RELATIONSHIPS
A One-Day Advanced CPD Training
Friday 27 November 2026 | 9:00–15:00 GMT | Live Online | 5 CPD Hours
What if what looks like an attachment difficulty is actually a difference in communication, regulation, sensory processing or relational continuity?
Attachment theory remains one of the most influential frameworks in psychotherapy and relationship work. Yet much of what clinicians have been taught about attachment developed without autistic, ADHD and AuDHD people in mind.
This creates a significant clinical problem.
A need for recovery after social contact may be interpreted as avoidance. Intense sensitivity to rejection may be understood as anxious attachment. Inconsistent communication can be read as relational withdrawal. Masking may look like secure functioning. A need for predictability can be mistaken for dependency or control.
And in couples work, differences between neurotypes can quickly become formulated as attachment rupture when something more complex is happening between two nervous systems.
This advanced one-day training examines attachment through a neurodivergent-informed clinical lens.
Rather than abandoning attachment theory, we will ask a more useful question:
What remains clinically valuable when attachment theory meets neurodivergent experience and what needs to be reconsidered?
Drawing on current research, psychotherapeutic thinking and clinical practice, Justyna will explore attachment with autistic, ADHD and AuDHD individuals and couples, including:
• what the evidence actually tells us about neurodivergence and attachment and where the evidence remains limited or contested
• distinguishing attachment insecurity from neurodivergent communication, sensory and regulation differences
• masking and adaptation as relational and regulation strategies
• rejection sensitivity and experiences of relational discontinuity
• object permanence and relational continuity
• AuDHD approach-avoidance dynamics
• co-regulation, body doubling and connection between neurodivergent nervous systems
• mixed-neurotype couples and the double-empathy problem
• communication differences that can be misinterpreted as rejection, avoidance or attachment rupture
• developing formulations that do not automatically locate the “problem” within the neurodivergent partner
You will also work with a neurodivergent-informed attachment formulation framework designed to translate the learning directly into clinical practice.
WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR?
This is an advanced clinical training, designed for qualified psychotherapists, counsellors, psychosexual and relationship therapists, clinical psychologists and other experienced practitioners already working with neurodivergent clients.
It assumes familiarity with neurodivergent-affirming practice. We will not spend the day introducing autism or ADHD; instead, we will work with the clinical complexity that emerges when neurodivergence, attachment, intimacy and relationships intersect.
DATE & INVESTMENT
Friday 27 November 2026
9:00–15:00 GMT
Live online | 5 CPD hours
24 Places
Early bird: £120 - book by 30 September 2026
Standard: £135 - book by 27 October 2026
Full price: £150
This is a live, interactive training rather than a recorded webinar. The day includes teaching, clinical discussion, experiential work, case formulation and small-group exercises.
Full attendance is required for the CPD certificate.
QUESTIONS: admin@jkltherapycentre.com
JKL Therapy Centre: jkltherapycentre.com
YOUR TRAINER
Justyna Kulczyk-Lewinska (she/her), MSc, BSc, PgDip
Psychosexual & Relationship Psychotherapist | Sexologist
Advanced Couple Psychotherapist | Clinical Supervisor | Trainer
COSRT Accred. PST & RT 4134, COSRT Registered Supervisor, BACP Registered no 406103, UKCP Registered no 2011186678, SNCPS (Acc.) no NCPS7864
Justyna is a psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist, sexologist, advanced couple psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and trainer specialising in the intersections of neurodivergence, relationships, sexuality and intimacy.
She is the creator of NST - Neurodivergent Systems Therapy, and her clinical and teaching work explores how established psychotherapeutic and relationship models can be critically reconsidered and adapted when working with autistic, ADHD and AuDHD people rather than assuming neurotypical relational functioning as the clinical norm.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: LIL LANG
We are delighted to welcome Lil Lang (they/them) as a guest contributor to the training.
Lil is a relational therapist working with individuals and intimate partners, with much of their clinical practice centred around queer and neurodivergent communities. Their work brings together relational, psychodynamic, person-centred and body-based approaches, with particular attention to attachment, identity, communication, regulation and the ways different internal worlds meet within intimate relationships.
Lil will join Justyna for part of the day, bringing a relational and practice-based perspective to our exploration of neurodivergent attachment and couples work.
Lil is a registered member of BACP, holds a Diploma in Integrative Counselling from The Minster Centre and a Certificate in Intimate Partner Therapy, and is currently undertaking further advanced relationship training with the NAOS Institute.
Find out more about Lil: Lang Therapy
A One-Day Advanced CPD Training
Friday 27 November 2026 | 9:00–15:00 GMT | Live Online | 5 CPD Hours
Embrace the journey of continuous growth and development in your professional sector. With dedicated learning, training, and supervision, cultivate your expertise and flourish amidst the dynamic landscape of opportunity.
More than a workplace, an evolving community where ideas are challenged, people are empowered, and care is elevated.
Trainings for Professionals
Neurodivergence, Sex, and Relationships
November the 15th 2026
Content: This 1-day experiential training offers you the opportunity to further develop your competence and confidence when working with neurodivergent adults.
Past Training & Teaching
JKL Therapy Centre provides advanced professional training for psychotherapists, counsellors, psychosexual and relationship therapists, psychologists and other practitioners working with neurodivergence, sexuality and relationships.
Our training is grounded in clinical practice, current research and lived experience, with a particular focus on translating theory into thoughtful, neurodivergent-affirming therapeutic practice.
