Autism therapists in Santa Maria, CA
Find experienced Autism therapists in Santa Maria, California who provide Autism testing, evaluations, and therapy. Our directory features detailed therapist profiles so you can compare qualifications, specialties, and treatment approaches to find the provider that’s right for you.
Autism
Matthew Weisskopf
Psychologist, PhD
I am available to provide psychotherapy services for adults with high functioning autism/Asperger‘s. Therapy can focus on assisting the individual with navigating the challenges of the social world and managing anxiety or other challenging emotions.
19 Years Experience
Online in Santa Maria, CA
Autism
Rose Snyder, EdM, PsyD, LLC
Psychologist, PsyD
I have both professional and personal experience supporting children with autism and PDA diagnoses. I have particular training and expertise in supporting parents with neurodivergent children.
23 Years Experience
Online in Santa Maria, CA
Autism
Lisa Paer
Counselor/Therapist, LMFT, LPCC, EMDR Certified
As an autistic therapist myself, I know what it's like to live in a world not designed for us. Masking our sensory sensitivities and emotional overwhelm can leave us depleted and unable to function. I can help you manage executive dysfunction, understand your sensory profile, better manage emotions, and learn to unmask and get to know your true, authentic self. I value your passions, quirks, and individuality, and I focus on unveiling your strengths and helping you use them to your advantage to live a more fulfilling life.
11 Years Experience
Online in Santa Maria, CA (Online Only)
Autism
TREATMENT AND TOOLS FOR TRAUMA
Licensed Psychoanalyst, PH.D., IN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND NEUROSCIENCE, CERTIFIED PSYCHOANALYST, PSY.A, & LICENSED PSYCHOANALYST
My practice will diagnose and treat the 5 variations of autism including Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Kanner's Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. I believe these problems are primarily a result of problems in the brain. The brain is not working normally, and hence neither is the mind. My treatment involves mind/brain approaches. You are welcome to call my office at 661-478-0667 for an evaluation.
36 Years Experience
Online in Santa Maria, CA
Autism
Mia Turner
Therapist, MA, RYT, ASDCS, LMFT, NPT-C, CMNCS, CMIP
Neurodiversity-affirming Autism therapy for teens and adults and Autism evaluations for adults seeking deeper self-understanding, validation, support, and clarity. As an AuDHDer, my work is especially attuned to the experiences of high-masking, late-identified, gifted, AFAB, BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, creative, PDA, quirky, curious, spiritually-oriented, and otherwise frequently overlooked Autistic and AuDHD individuals whose experiences may have been misunderstood, missed, dismissed, or pathologized for years.
Support often focuses on identity, sensory experiences, monotropism, passionate interests, communication and relational styles, autistic burnout, nervous system regulation, interoception, executive functioning, self-advocacy, belonging, and the lifelong impact of adapting within environments that may not have recognized, understood, or supported autistic needs. Exploration may include the influence of culture, race, gender, disability, chronic illness, family systems, spirituality, community, trauma, and societal expectations, as well as the internalized ableism and narratives that can develop when your natural ways of being are repeatedly questioned, corrected, accommodated too little, or misunderstood.
Particular attention is given to the ways masking, overcompensation, chronic self-monitoring, perfectionism, people-pleasing, hyper-independence, and other adaptive survival strategies can emerge in response to misunderstanding, marginalization, trauma, and the pressure to appear more neurotypical. Autism is understood not simply through behaviors or traits, but through the lived experience of moving through the world in an Autistic bodymind. This includes the relationship between sensory processing, energy capacity, nervous system states, movement, rest, transitions, interests, environmental fit, authenticity, and safety.
Rather than focusing on how to appear more neurotypical, therapy centers self-understanding, self-trust, self-accommodation, and creating a life that honors your natural rhythms, sensory needs, interests, values, strengths, and ways of relating. My approach integrates EMDR, somatic therapy, mindfulness, parts work, expressive arts, executive functioning support, geek therapy, and neuropsychotherapy through a neurodiversity-affirming, nervous-system-centered, and liberation-oriented lens.
I also provide comprehensive virtual Autism evaluations utilizing a culturally conscious, sensory-informed, neurodivergent-affirming approach designed to identify presentations that are frequently overlooked in traditional assessment settings. Evaluations move beyond checklists and stereotypes to include an in-depth exploration of developmental history, lived experience, sensory patterns, masking, strengths, challenges, identity, relationships, nervous system patterns, and neurotype, resulting in a thorough affirming report with personalized recommendations, resources, and a deeper understanding of yourself through a lens that recognizes difference rather than deficit.
10 Years Experience
Online in Santa Maria, CA (Online Only)
Santa Maria is a Central Coast California city in Santa Barbara County with one of California's largest proportions of Latino residents and an economy anchored by agriculture, oil, and wine production—particularly in the nearby Santa Maria Valley wine region—and the mental health landscape reflects the specific challenges of a working-class agricultural community where many residents are farmworkers or their family members, facing occupational health risks, economic precarity, immigration stress, and limited access to services. Marian Regional Medical Center provides health services, and community health organizations serve the significant uninsured and underinsured farmworker population, though the gap between mental health need and available culturally competent Spanish-language care is persistent. Common therapy concerns include farmworker stress and occupational health, immigration trauma and undocumented status anxiety, family and intergenerational dynamics in a community navigating significant acculturation pressures, and access barriers in a city where the majority population is often underserved by formal mental health systems.
Autism therapists in Santa Maria, CA Statistics
Autism therapists in Santa Maria, CA average 14 years of experience and charge around $229 per session. 100% offer online sessions. The top treatment approaches are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (64%), Family Systems Therapy (44%), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) (42%).
Average years in practice
14 Years Experience
Average cost per session
$229
Accept insurance
46%
Offer sliding scale
44%
Gender ID
| 59% |
Female |
|
| 26% |
Male |
|
| 9% |
Non-Binary |
|
| 6% |
Gender Fluid |
|
Session Type
| 62% |
In Person and Online |
|
| 38% |
Online Only |
|
Top Treatment Approaches
| 64% | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) |
| 44% | Family Systems Therapy |
| 42% | Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) |
| 40% | Psychodynamic Therapy |
| 40% | Relational Psychotherapy |
| 38% | Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) |
| 38% | Internal Family Systems (IFS) |
Ages Served
| 100% | Adult |
| 74% | Young Adult |
| 60% | Teen |
| 58% | Senior |
| 46% | Children |
Client Focus
| 60% | LGBTQ+ |
| 60% | Women |
| 46% | Persons with Disabilities |
| 38% | Black / African American |
| 38% | Men |