If you’ve struggled with depression that doesn’t seem to respond the way your therapist or doctor expected — if you’ve tried the recommended approaches and they’ve helped some, but something fundamental still feels unresolved — you may be dealing with more than depression alone.
Many of the adults I work with have lived with a version of this experience. They describe a persistent heaviness, a sense of disconnection, or a quiet despair that treatment touches but doesn’t resolve. What I’ve found, in over 30 years of specializing in adult autism, is that when autism goes unrecognized, depression often becomes the default explanation for experiences that actually have a different root.
Ready to get started or have questions?
You've been treated for depression, but the sense of disconnection or emptiness persists
You feel like you're performing a version of yourself that doesn't quite match who you really are
Loneliness has been a recurring theme in your life, even when you're not technically alone
You've achieved things that should feel satisfying, but the satisfaction doesn't last
You withdraw from social interactions not because you dislike people, but because they exhaust you
You've wondered why life seems to take more effort for you than it does for others
Major life changes — new jobs, moves, relationship shifts — hit you harder and longer than expected
You sometimes feel like you're watching life from the outside rather than fully participating in it
Depression is one of the most common co-occurring experiences among autistic adults. Studies indicate that autistic adults are four times more likely to experience depression than the general population. But the nature of that depression is often different in ways that matter for treatment.
For many autistic adults, depression doesn’t arrive as a sudden mood change. It builds slowly from years of experiences that accumulate without explanation: social isolation despite wanting connection, the exhaustion of maintaining a mask to fit in, careers that never quite feel right, and a persistent sense that something about your experience doesn’t match what everyone around you seems to find normal.
Understanding this connection doesn’t make the pain less real. But it shifts the question from ‘Why am I broken?’ to ‘How can I build a life that fits who I actually am?’ — and that’s a fundamentally different starting point for healing.
I offer thorough autism assessments for adults via secure telehealth, available anywhere in California. My assessments are designed to identify autism in adults who have often spent years being treated for other conditions — including depression — without the full picture.
For adults who already have an autism diagnosis, individual therapy can help you develop practical strategies for managing depression in ways that account for your neurology — addressing not just symptoms, but the underlying patterns that contribute to them.
Telehealth only (no in-office visits)
Licensed in California only
Whether you’re seeking targeted skill-building, help navigating work or relationships, or a space to better understand yourself, therapy can help.
A: Autism itself doesn’t cause depression, but the experience of being autistic in a world not designed for autistic brains — the masking, the social disconnection, the sensory demands — frequently contributes to depression.
A: When the underlying cause of depression is connected to unrecognized autism, treatments designed for neurotypical depression may not fully address what’s going on. An autism assessment can help determine whether your neurology is a factor.
A: Yes. Many adults I assess are currently experiencing depression. The assessment process is designed to distinguish between symptoms that are related to depression and those that reflect autism.
A: Yes. I offer individual therapy for autistic adults in California via secure telehealth, using a neurodiversity-affirming approach that focuses on practical strategies that work with how your brain functions.