Hi, I’m autistic and relationships are my special interest.
As an autistic person living in a long-term reIationship I know most common joys and conflicts between autistic and non-autistic people from my own experience: in families, in romantic relationships, in friendships, at work and in activism.
Conflicts can be handled and sometimes solved when both sides learn to better understand each other, questions their prior assumptions and recognize that the other person usually meant well, even if they didn’t always do well.
Autistic and neurotypical people often find it hard to take each other’s perspective. It helps if a third person recognizes and acknowledges their respective needs and feelings and translates between the two, with empathy and expert knowledge.
That’s exactly my job.
I am trained as a:
- Couple counselor for neurodiverse couples: I can translate and mediate between autistic and neurotypical partners, know typical conflicts and strengths of their relationships and provide easy to use tools to facilitate difficult situations in couples’ everyday life.
- Basic consultant of Positive Psychotherapy: I can mediate, counsel and support in couple, family or team conflicts, always focusing on each member’s capabilities and strengths. I also assist individuals in improving self-esteem, life balance and meaning.
- Anti-Bias-Trainer: I know how preconceived notions and power relations work and how they can play out in relationships. I can support people in questioning them and finding more egalitarian ways of thinking and acting if they so wish.
My own real life experience proves that autistic and non-autistic people can live together in harmony and work together productively, if there is understanding and acceptance for their differences and if each person’s needs are taken seriously. I’ve been in a relationship with the same partner for over twenty years, married for over ten years and have been part of countless teams and projects. I’ve been navigating between autistic and neurotypical worlds all my life.
I can help if you…
- think autism or neurodiversity could play a role in your relationship,
- are on the autism spectrum and want to improve your relationship to your partner and/or to yourself
- want to open up your organization to people on the autism spectrum or experience challenges in your team or organization in which neurodiversity might play a role.
Neurotypical perspectives on relationship issues are easy to find: in guidebooks, on the internet, from friends or through your internalized neurotypical voice. If you seek professional counseling, opt for the autistic perspective!
Contact and booking
Communication and accessibility
I do my best to accommodate your needs. That’s why I offer counseling through your preferred communication channel:
- in person in Berlin, Germany, district Neukölln,
- via videocall (Zoom),
- phone
- or chat.
You are welcome to bring a person to accompany you to the counseling session if that helps you in any way.
Accessibility of the counseling space: My counseling space has two steps at the entrance. A mobile ramp is available. The toilet is not wheelchair accessible. You can find detailed accessibility information here. Please tell me your accessibility needs so I can accommodate or if needed rent another space for our sessions.
Cost and payment
To accommodate your different situations I offer a sliding scale.
- Individual or couple counseling costs 1 Euro per minute. I recommend booking 60 to 90 minutes depending on your schedule and needs.
- Group counseling or counseling paid by an organization (e.g. your employer) costs 90 Euro per hour. A group session typically lasts two to three hours.
- People who are unemployed, severely underemployed or retired early because of a disability can pay 50 Euro per session.
- People who have trouble having their basic needs met due to very little income (in the German case e.g. immigrants not entitled to unemployment allowance) can pay 30 Euro per session.
I accept different payment methods:
- If you book your appointment online, you will be asked to pay with your Credit Card or via PayPal.
- If you have a PayPal account, you can easily transfer money to me if you log into PayPal and send money to paypal.me/ConniSchwaerzerDutta
- If you are located in Germany or another country in the European Union, you can easily pay by bank transfer. Ask me for my account data to do this.
- If you come for in person counseling you can also pay cash.
Booking
You can write me an Email to constanze.schwaerzer@gmx.net, use the contact form below or click on the following link:
Looking forward to meeting you!
Yours sincerely,
Conni Schwaerzer-Dutta