Sunset over San Luis Obispo Bay near Arroyo Grande, California
Neurodiversity-Affirmative Therapy & Assessment · Arroyo Grande, CA

Specializing in neurodivergent people.

We are passionate about helping our clients lead their best lives. Most of us are neurodivergent ourselves — and all of us practice from a neurodiversity-affirmative philosophy that values your differences.

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Dr. Joel Schwartz, PsyD — Founder of NeuroPathways
Dr. Joel Schwartz, PsyDFounder · Clinical Psychologist
Welcome to NeuroPathways

What is Neurodiversity Affirmative Therapy?

Have you tried therapy and found it difficult to connect? Have you worked so hard to find healing and continue to struggle? Have you been frustrated by the standard format of therapy that doesn’t seem to work for you?

This is because standard therapy culture was created without neurodivergence like Autism and ADHD in mind. Neurodivergent people connect differently — our brains come alive in different contexts, we move differently, we pay attention to different things. And these differences, when not honored by those around us, create wells of anxiety and shame that can cause us to get stuck.

Most therapy does not understand that what is normal for us is actually functional, and should be celebrated — not changed.

What we don’t do

Daring to not fit in can free us from the bonds of shame and anxiety. We are one of the few practices that can help you discover the joy in your life.

We won’t modify you to look more conventional.

Instead, we empower our clients to embrace themselves as they are.

We won’t teach neurotypical “social skills.”

They don’t work in the long run. It’s more useful to understand and accept how different people prefer to socialize and communicate.

We won’t overwhelm you with tools built by neurotypical people.

Instead, we help you tap into your built-in potential to cope, connect, and thrive — and develop tools that work for you.

We won’t correct how you talk or move.

Instead, we join you in your way of being and celebrate it.

We won’t urge you to suffer in environments that don’t work for you.

Instead, we teach you to advocate for your needs, alter your environment, and seek accommodations.

Primary Services

Care shaped around how your mind works

Our Values

NeuroPathways is sex-positive, culturally humble, and LGBTQIA+ affirming.

We honor all the ways people choose to live their lives. We urge you to listen to your body and move as you naturally want, no matter how unconventional.

“What you are to be, you are now becoming.”— Carl Rogers
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Begin Your Journey

The first step is the hardest one to take.

It gets easier once you make that initial call. At NeuroPathways, you will not be alone on your journey to a more content and meaningful life. Let us help you reach your full potential.