Meet Heather Whittall | Clinical Psychologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Whittall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, what principle do you value most?
What matters most to me, and what fuels my desire to have a specialty private practice, is that I believe it is deeply important for everyone to have the chance to understand how their own brain works. This allows us to think about what ways of working, learning and living actually work best for us- not just what our culture tells us we should be able to do. Neurodivergence means that someone’s brain works significantly differently from the average person. If that is not known and understood then people carry heavy burdens of shame and self criticism which results in anxiety, depression and trauma. Those in turn deeply impact relationships of all kinds including with oneself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started out as a psychologist thinking I wanted to do “fern and lamp” therapy – which is a silly joke about working in the old Freudian style and stroking your beard asking “So tell me about your mother…”. Turns out, I have repeatedly been drawn back to working with neurodivergent clients who have complex cognitive and mental health situations to manage. There’s a dearth of providers who work with these folks so it was isolating at the beginning to feel that there were not many supports for myself or for clients. But, I figured, when in doubt….build it. So along with Lila Kimel PhD, I helped build a professional network in Colorado. Then last year I found that another thing I wanted didnt really exist and this was a group mental health practice that deliberately focused on offering neurodivergence affirming therapy an assessment- so giving people the information and help they need in a less pathologizing way than typical medical/psychological practice.

I’ve also been fortunate to be able to do some experimental- and very successful- style of group therapy that involves playing Dungeons and Dragons to deal with your internal demons and support mental health. I was recently interviewed for an article that will come out in the APA Monitor on this subject. I feel very passionate about how effective DnD is for therapy, and am always amazed to see how much growth occurs through those groups!

None of what I’ve done has ever been easy, but it has always been deeply satisfying. Seeing people learn, grow and treat themselves better makes it worth it. I now want to focus on training other professionals to know what I know, and be able to help clients who have complex needs. Thus, with my business partner Steven Moore LPC we have started a group to support clinicians to do just that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m lucky that my best friend is already here 🙂 But we would a slow weekend involving tacos and margs at Teocalli in Lafayette, followed by splurging on too many fun books at the Read Queen, and then eating pastries at Jeannott’s in Lafayette as well. Give us some chocolate and a trashy novel and we are the happiest we could be.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would shout out to all of the other providers in Colorado who work with neurodivergent individuals. We’ve built an incredible network of professionals who collaborate to ensure clients have the best available resources. In particular, Lila Kimel PhD runs a list serve for professionals who work with Autistic folks and this has been a huge boon to the community so providers can find the right resources.

Website: https://www.diapason.us

Image Credits
All pics belong to me