We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nyck Walsh (he/they) a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nyck, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
At the end of 2023, I had a publisher reach out and ask if I would be interested in submitting a book proposal based on the work that I do. It was profoundly exciting, and also really scary! I love to write and am really invested in reducing harm in the mental health field, especially as it relates to supporting Autistic and VAST (a more affirming alternative to what is medically known as ADHD) clients. My proposal got approved and I went on to write my first book. It was officially released into the world on March 10th. As an openly trans, queer, Autistic, VAST, Jewish person invested in a Free Palestine, releasing an anti-oppressive, anti-ableist, ND affirming book in 2026 is by far the bravest thing I have ever done. When I said yes to writing this book, I had no idea how drastically both the political climate and my personal life would change by the time this book was published. I’ve been told that this book is more needed than ever and that fueled my courage to keep going. Even with my privilege as a white person and US citizen who was born to parents who were also US citizens, I have had to face tremendous fear about what it means to be so visible in my identities right now. There were many moments in the past year that I didn’t know if I would still be alive when the book was officially published. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to hold it in my hands and get to witness its impact. I am so profoundly grateful that I did live to witness these moments, and I feel the grief of all who didn’t. I even got to celebrate this milestone in community, surrounded by fellow Autistic and VAST neurokin. It was incredibly surreal, and still is. The book has only been “in the wild” for a week now, but I’ve already gotten enough feedback to know that it was well worth the journey.
Nyck, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a somatic psychotherapist who has been working with Autistic and VAST people since 2009. I started out teaching yoga to Autistic kids and their families, and it was truly life changing work. At the time, I was unknowingly Autistic myself, but through this work, I got to be the most myself that I had ever felt permission to be. Eventually, I got my Master’s degree in somatic counseling psychology and my work grew to include counseling and communities for Autistic youth and their families. After COVID began, my work shifted some more, and since then has focused on counseling for late identified Autistic and/or VAST adults. I was consistently having clients tell me some version of you “you have helped me more in a couple or few sessions than any therapist has ever helped me.” While it was beautiful to know that I was having such a positive impact, hearing about the harm so many of my clients had previously endured by other therapists was also heart breaking. This inspired me to launch my counselor education program on neurodivergent affirming, anti-oppressive, trauma informed, and somatic counseling. Through this work, I developed a model called Neurodivergent Somatics, what I believe to be best practice for working with Autistic and VAST clients. This is the basis of what my book is about, which is called “Neurodivergent Somatics in Therapy: an anti-oppressive model for whole person care,” published by Norton Professional Books in March 2026.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Without question, what makes me a good therapist is deeper than my professional training. While this training is vital and necessary, investment in my own personal growth journey and trauma healing has been equally as important. Coming into my identities, particularly my neurodivergence, transness, and queerness has supported my wholeness, along with trauma healing and integration. Therapy for therapists is crucial to our role. My own therapeutic journey has included somatic therapy, 5Rthythms practice, yoga, work with a shamanic practitioner, grief work, deepening into my relationship with Earth-based and ancestral practices, and unlearning my white colonized mind. Working with my own trauma has put me in touch with how post-traumatic growth can come from our deepest pain, Having my own therapist gives me the insight I need to understand the client perspective. This also gives me even more compassion and empathy for what it means to ask for support in a dominant culture that dismisses mental health and preaches figuring it all out on our own. My lived experience is an asset in working with clients with shared identities. While I effort to not over-identify with my clients or project my own experience onto them, I am able to deeply understand, empathize, and help them dismantle ableism and other forms of oppression-or at least identify when systems of oppression are the issue, not them as individuals.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
As much courage as it has required, I think my authenticity and willingness to speak truth to that which therapists are taught to be silent about has contributed to my reputation. As a social justice counselor invested in anti-oppression work and as an openly Autistic, VAST, trans, and queer person, I am honest about the harm that western psychology causes many people. I allow myself to stim, to process and express myself in ways that are authentic to who I am, and I model what I wish for clients and other therapists. I don’t just speak about what I believe or hope for, I demonstrate it in my actions and how I show up. I willingly challenge norms and societal expectations, while also holding the very real impacts of systemic oppression in the foreground. I have been deeply invested in understanding both my privilege and my marginalization, and I am honest about this, I acknowledge the realities of what it means to be human, especially in the present day. I hold space for grief, Sacred rage (to use Dr. Jennifer Mullan’s term), rest, joy, pleasure, AND neutrality. I offer tremendous permission to clients and therapists, a permission that they often intuitively know they need, but might struggle to trust or to give themselves. I lead with heart, compassion, and create ND affirming spaces that clients and therapists alike feel safer existing within. I am both bold and gentle,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nyckwalsh.com
- Instagram: NyckWalsh
- Facebook: Nyck Walsh Counseling & Training Center
Image Credits
Rachael Brody, Deb Silver, Phoebe Walsh-Costello