Adult Autism Therapy in St. Petersburg, FL
Clinically reviewed by the clinical team at Family Psychology Associates. Last updated April 2026. FPA has served Tampa Bay since 1992.
Whether you have had a formal autism diagnosis since childhood, received one later in life, or strongly suspect you are autistic without a formal evaluation, therapy with a clinician who actually understands autism can be a turning point. At Family Psychology Associates, we offer autism-affirming therapy for adults across the Tampa Bay area. Our focus is not on fixing you or training you to look more neurotypical. It is on helping you understand yourself, manage the things that are genuinely hard, and build a life that works with your brain rather than against it.
Who We Work With
Our autism-affirming therapists see adults across a wide range of experiences, including:
- Adults diagnosed in childhood who want therapy from someone who will not treat autism as the problem
- Adults diagnosed in their twenties, thirties, forties, or later who are processing what the diagnosis means
- Self-identified autistic adults who do not have a formal diagnosis and are not sure they want or need one
- Autistic adults with co-occurring ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma
- Partners, spouses, and family members of autistic adults who want to understand and support better
What Therapy With Us Looks Like
Every clinician is different, and we match you to someone whose approach fits. What our autism-affirming work has in common is a basic orientation: autism is a way of being, not a problem to eliminate. We work with you on what you actually want help with, not what the world tells you to fix.
Unmasking and Identity
Many adults, especially those identified later, have spent decades masking – performing neurotypical social behavior at great cost. Therapy can be a place to set that armor down, notice what is underneath, and start to rebuild on your own terms. This work often touches self-concept, career, relationships, and what you actually want your life to look like.
Burnout, Shutdown, and Nervous System Regulation
Autistic burnout is real and is often what brings people in. We work with you on recognizing early signs, building recovery practices, advocating for accommodations at work and at home, and regulating the nervous system when it is already past the edge.
Sensory Differences
We treat sensory sensitivities as real and as something to build a life around, not push through. Together, we can map out your sensory profile, identify the environments and inputs that drain or regulate you, and problem-solve practical accommodations.
Co-occurring Anxiety, Depression, OCD, and Trauma
Most autistic adults come in with more than autism. Anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, PTSD, and complex trauma are very common. We use evidence-based treatments including CBT, ACT, DBT skills, and EMDR, always adapted to a neurodivergent-affirming frame. That means skills are offered as tools, not as requirements to be more neurotypical.
Relationships and Communication
We help with dating, friendships, family dynamics, and partnership work. That includes translating between different communication styles, setting boundaries, recovering from relational trauma, and sometimes bringing a partner or family member into session when that helps.
Work, School, and Accommodations
Navigating neurotypical workplaces and academic environments is often where autistic adults spend the most energy. Therapy can support you in deciding when and whether to disclose, how to request accommodations, and how to build a working life that actually fits.
What We See in Our Autistic Adult Caseload
In our day-to-day work with autistic adults, a handful of presentations come up over and over. Late-identified women make up a large share of new intakes, often arriving after a child was evaluated and a parent recognized themselves in the description. Autistic burnout, not autism itself, is usually the presenting complaint – exhaustion, cognitive slowdown, loss of language, a sense of being done.
Many clients are also doing post-diagnostic grief work – revisiting school experiences, relationships, and career decisions through a new lens and metabolizing years of self-blame that no longer fits the frame. Masking and unmasking come up in nearly every case. The work is rarely about learning new social skills. It is more often about deciding which parts of the mask are worth keeping, which are costing more than they are earning, and what a genuinely sustainable life could look like.
The neurodivergent-affirming frame we use is consistent with current consensus in the research and advocacy community, which has moved away from approaches focused on changing autistic behavior toward supporting self-determination, accommodation, and well-being (Autistic Self Advocacy Network).
A Note on Formal Autism Assessment
Family Psychology Associates does not currently offer formal adult autism assessment (ADOS-2). If you are seeking a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, we are happy to refer you to trusted local providers who specialize in adult autism testing. You do not need a formal diagnosis to start therapy with us. Many of our clients begin with therapy while deciding whether they want to pursue evaluation, and some never pursue formal testing at all. Self-identification is valid, and we treat it as such.
If your goal is a formal diagnosis for workplace or academic accommodations, insurance purposes, or personal clarity, reach out and we can point you toward evaluators who do quality adult assessment work in Tampa Bay.
Why Tampa Bay Autistic Adults Choose Family Psychology Associates
Family Psychology Associates has been serving the Tampa Bay area since 1992. Our 20+ clinicians include therapists with specific training in neurodivergent-affirming care. We see autistic adults from St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Largo, Seminole, Pinellas Park, Tampa, New Port Richey, and Trinity. Our offices are in St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor, and Trinity / New Port Richey, with online therapy available throughout Florida.
We understand that adult autism, particularly in women, nonbinary adults, and people of color, is frequently missed in childhood because historical research focused on young white boys (Lai & Baron-Cohen, 2015, Lancet Psychiatry). You should not have to educate your therapist.
Telehealth Throughout Florida
Many autistic adults find telehealth a better fit than in-person sessions. Familiar environment, less sensory load from the commute and waiting room, and the option to join from wherever feels regulated. We offer secure video sessions statewide. Some clients do entirely virtual, others do a mix, and either works.
Related Support
Depending on what is happening, these may also be helpful: trauma therapy, couples therapy, young adult therapy, and psychological testing for non-autism evaluations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a formal diagnosis to start therapy with you?
No. Self-identification is enough. Many of our clients come in exploring whether they are autistic, some arrive already diagnosed, and some decide they do not need a formal evaluation. Therapy is about what you want to work on, not about a diagnostic gatekeeper.
Will your therapists try to make me less autistic?
No. We work from a neurodivergent-affirming frame. That means we do not treat autism as a disorder to be cured or as social skills to be drilled. We work with you on what you actually want help with, whether that is burnout, relationships, anxiety, sensory overwhelm, or something else entirely.
Can you evaluate me for autism?
Not at this time. FPA does not currently offer formal ADOS-2 testing. We can refer you to trusted local providers who do specialize in adult autism assessment if that is what you are looking for.
Do you take insurance?
Many of our clinicians accept major insurance plans. Our intake team will verify your benefits and explain any out-of-network options. See the contact us page for current plan information.
How do I know which therapist is the right fit?
Our intake team will ask about what you are looking for, what matters to you in a therapist, and the issues you want to work on. We will match you with a clinician whose training and approach fit. If the first fit does not feel right, we will help you switch.
Do you offer medication?
Our psychologists and therapists do not prescribe medication, but we work closely with local psychiatric providers and can refer when medication consultation would be helpful, particularly for co-occurring anxiety, depression, ADHD, or sleep concerns.
What about therapy for autistic children or teens?
Our adult autism therapy is for clients roughly 18 and up. For younger clients, please see our child therapy and teen therapy pages.
Our Clinical Standards
Every clinician at Family Psychology Associates holds a current Florida state license as a licensed psychologist, mental health counselor, or clinical social worker. Clinicians on our neurodivergent-affirming team engage in ongoing continuing education focused on autism in adults, late identification, and co-occurring conditions, and draw on CBT, ACT, DBT skills, and EMDR adapted for neurodivergent clients. Content on this page reflects clinical approaches currently used by our practice and is reviewed by FPA’s clinical leadership. It is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized clinical consultation or formal diagnostic evaluation.
Start Today
Reaching out is the hardest part. Once you do, our intake team will walk you through next steps and help you find a clinician who fits.
Call us:
- St. Petersburg: (727) 900-7014
- Safety Harbor: (727) 725-8820
- Trinity / New Port Richey: (727) 376-3922