Mara McLoughlin

What We Specialize In

My team specializes in a community-based, proactive approach to mental health. We work with autistic and other socially struggling teens, young adults, and their parents. Our lens is neurodiversity-affirming and informed by the social model of disability and the latest autism research by actually autistic researchers. We teach in a group setting, entirely via Zoom. Class materials, handouts, videos, class roster is all provided to families for the 16-week masterclass. We provide a safe, sheltered small group context in which participants are seen and heard, validated and acknowledged. These are not soft skills — these are hard skills. We've got your back.

Our Personal Beliefs and Interests

Being effective is doing what works. We teach interpersonal — and intrapersonal — skills to anyone who is motivated to learn more about themselves and others, and how to use discernment to navigate the social world. It's complicated! And even those who have great social skills don't necessarily know how to teach them. Ours is an experiential approach that also trains the environment — in this case, the family context — to look at behavior through an empathy lens. We teach about self-regulation and co-regulation, which is the strongest safety cue. We believe that humans heal in community. We are a multilingual, multicultural team of speech therapists, occupational therapists, direct support workers, and licensed professional counselors — a crackerjack group to which your family will have full access throughout the 16-week course.