ABSTRACT
It’s well-known that a therapist’s level of self-awareness is vital to their ethical processing of countertransference. As such, counseling training programs encourage personal introspection in areas such as identity, culture, personality, relationships, and trauma. It’s virtually unheard of, though, to specifically invite students to explore their own unique neurobiological features. In this chapter, the author asserts this type of intentional exploration is a necessary best practice for neurodiverse couple therapists. Gaining insight about one’s own neurotype and neurodiverse relationship dynamics may be viewed as a reasonable extension of Joseph Aponte’s Person of the Therapist (POTT) work. Professional readers are encouraged to engage with three original reflection exercises: Writing a NeuroNarrative, Brain Branching, and Individual Circle Mapping. Readers are also guided to categorize the relationship they have with their own brain. Finally, an ethical discussion regarding therapists’ personal disclosure practices is included.
