Peter Linden, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Growing up with learning challenges, I had an experience that is all too familiar for the neurodivergent community. Often feeling misunderstood and out of place, I was faced with indifference, ignorance, neglect, gaslighting, shame, and the assumption that I could navigate a world that was not built for me without the support I so badly needed. Lonely, adrift, and struggling to find a sense of belonging, I was cast aside and left to fend for myself. After a series of negative experiences with mental health resources and support, my personal journey led me to a couples therapist in 2014. There, I embarked on a journey of transformation, and I was able to see the profound impact that the right therapy relationship could have on a person. It was then that I was introduced to Gestalt psychotherapy, which I immediately connected with. From there, I set forth on a new journey to study Gestalt psychotherapy at the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy, a post-graduate training program. Pursuing this path, I have continued to experience connectedness, belonging, compassion, the wonder of curiosity, and love itself. Arriving at this place of acceptance and understanding changed everything for me. Understanding that this positive experience is not the norm for members of the neurodivergent community, I decided to dedicate myself to providing that same transformation for others. With this mission, I founded Welcome Home Healing in 2023. Since then, I have had the pleasure of helping many clients embrace their own innate worth, gifts, individuality, and the freedom to shed their masks of shame and self-doubt.

As an autistic and attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) man, I am honored to work with members of the neurodivergent community, especially those on the autism spectrum, who have difficulty developing nourishing relationships, honoring themselves, and finding acceptance. During sessions, I utilize gestalt therapy, which is a present-oriented therapy that facilitates awareness of what you are doing to meet your needs through experiments. Here, clients will learn to sit with uncomfortable feelings and sensations, noticing their bodies, unmet needs, and humanity. From this, there is a shift from rejection to acceptance and holding. The body is no longer something to be avoided, but a home for healing, growth, and nourishment. Healing work is my life, something that I will do until I die. Prior to that time, I welcome clients to join me in this journey of experiential growth, excitement, wonder, and reparenting. I send love and compassion to you all. Go in peace.