The Autistic Healer
A Depth-Oriented Desert Retreat for Autistic Therapists
A rare space for Autistic therapists to be held in community, make meaning of what they carry, and come home to themselves.
Priority Registration Is Now Open
Priority List members have first access to the 12 therapist spaces through September 30th.
Public registration opens October 1st.
Overview
Location: Joshua Tree, California
Dates: May 19-23, 2027
Investment: $5,995, with payment plans available
Privacy: Prioritized; all rooms are private with private bathrooms
Amenities: All meals included; 5 pools and 6 hot tubs available
Cohort Size: Limited to 12 therapists (+ partners/carers at $2,995)
Registration: Opening to the public on October 1st
Set in the magical desert landscape of Joshua Tree, The Autistic Healer is an intimate, depth-oriented retreat for Autistic therapists, centered on formation, restoration, and meaning-making.
This full-property buyout provides each therapist with their own private room and bathroom, plus multiple pools and hot tubs, desert gathering areas, and space for both community and solitude.
You spend your days helping others make meaning, survive painful systems, reclaim parts of themselves, and live with greater truth.
Where is the space for you to explore what it means to be an Autistic therapist?
Many of us moved through years of clinical training with no room to examine how our Autistic identity, history, and ways of knowing shape us as clinicians. Some discovered we were Autistic only after graduate school. Others learned to separate our Autistic selves from our professional selves in order to be respected or believed.
Consultation groups focus on the client.
This retreat centers the therapist.
Why Now
Autistic therapists are practicing within a uniquely painful moment. We support people who are frightened by public rhetoric, uncertain about diagnosis, and wounded by systems that claim to help them, while we ourselves are members of the community being discussed, politicized, and spoken over.
We are looked to for hope while we are also grieving.
Where is the space for us to talk about what we're carrying, make meaning of it, and consider how we want to respond?
This work requires more than endurance.
We need places where Autistic therapists can gather, think together, tell the truth about what we're carrying, and imagine what might come next.
A Place to Think Together
Some conversations are difficult to have in consultation groups or comment sections.
What does it mean to make decisions about diagnosis and disclosure when those questions are personal for us, too?
How do we practice inside systems we don't always trust?
What happens when our clinical roles ask us to hold questions that we are still living ourselves?
Autistic therapists occupy a strange position.
We are the clinicians.
We are also the population being discussed.
I want this retreat to make room for the complexity of that position. Not so that we arrive at the same conclusions, but so that we have enough time, trust, and intellectual freedom to think together.
Designed for Autistic Nervous Systems
Structured depth work balanced with spaciousness, beauty, and rest: guided formation circles, small-group dialogue, shared meals, and generous unstructured time for solitude and integration.
Clear schedules, spacious transitions, quiet rooms for sensory recovery. The retreat’s rhythm supports both depth and nervous-system care.
You'll stay at one of five exclusive desert estates in a quiet compound with your own private bedroom and en-suite bathroom — a true place to withdraw, decompress, and return to the group on your own terms.
Everything Included:
5 days & 4 nights on a private desert compound
Private bedroom & bathroom for every therapist
All meals & snacks, catered to dietary needs
3 depth-oriented workshops
6 CE hours, pending approval
Excursion: Joshua Tree National Park
Excursion: Integratron sound bath
Pool and hot tub access throughout
Dedicated quiet & sensory-recovery spaces
Spacious time for rest, reflection, & connection
Return transport to Palm Springs Airport
Airfare, arrival transportation (e.g., Uber), and optional private wellness sessions (e.g., massage) are not included.
Although the retreat property could accommodate a much larger group, I’m intentionally limiting it to 12 therapists so that each one will have a private bedroom and bathroom, with plenty of space throughout the property for gathering, solitude, and sensory recovery.
A Beautiful Setting for Deeper Conversations
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The Main Villa & Meeting Area
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Inside the Meeting Area
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Inside the Meeting Area
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Outside Meeting Area w/ Villa View
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One of Four Smaller Villas
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One of Twelve Private Bedrooms
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View from Your Backyard
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View of the Smaller Villas
You Belong
This retreat is for Autistic therapists who long for authentic connection, restoration, reflection, and the depth of formation they deserve.
It may be especially meaningful if you:
Discovered you were Autistic during or after clinical training
Support clients through experiences that touch you personally
Want to know who you truly are as an Autistic clinician
Feel the cost of masking, performance, or always being “on”
Want space to examine how your lived experience shapes your clinical presence, intuition, and self-trust
Carry grief, anger, or fear about the treatment of Autistic people
Feel pressure to stay composed while your community suffers
Want community with Autistic therapists beyond case consults
Long for beauty, rest, depth, and space to hear yourself again
Want to reconnect with the parts of yourself that have been buried under competence, caretaking, and performance
If parts of your true Autistic Self have been waiting to be seen, this retreat was made for you.
What We Will Explore
3 depth-oriented workshops — 2 hours each — on the formation of the Autistic therapist.
6 hours of continuing education (APA, ASWB, NBCC) are planned, pending approval.
Workshop themes will include:
Examining the messages you received about what a “good therapist” looks and sounds like
Exploring how masking and professional socialization have influenced the clinician you’ve become
Using the wounded healer archetype to explore how personal and collective wounds live within you
Providing room for the grief, rage, fear, and exhaustion of practicing amid escalating ableism
Reclaiming clinical self-trust by exploring Autistic ways of knowing, sensing, and relating
Naming what is happening, grounding in disability justice, and responding with intention
Teaching. Reflection. Conversation.
These workshops will be designed as shared inquiry rather than passive lectures. You'll choose what you share, while also being invited into the kind of thoughtful, honest conversation that becomes possible when Autistic therapists have enough time and trust to think together.
What You Will Leave With
You will leave more deeply rooted in your Autistic identity:
Clearer about how your history, values, nervous system, and ways of knowing shape how you show up; more able to distinguish what is yours, what belongs to the work, and what belongs to the collective; and more connected to a community of Autistic therapists.
Your Guide
Dr. Karissa Burnett (she/her) is an Autistic depth psychologist, trauma specialist, neurodiversity advocate, and the founder of Divergent Pathways. Trained in depth-oriented, relational, and spiritually integrative approaches, she is known for bridging science with soul and creating transformative experiences. Her work has been featured in National Geographic and the APA's Monitor on Psychology, and she has provided expert consultation to the ACLU on issues affecting Autistic people.
She created The Autistic Healer in response to a need she has felt personally and witnessed across the field: Autistic therapists are extensively trained to care for others, yet rarely given space for their own formation, grief, belonging, and becoming. She will facilitate the retreat's workshops within a thoughtfully-curated and sensory-considerate environment, where you can engage deeply without performing or translating yourself.
A note from Karissa:
This is the first retreat created specifically for Autistic therapists. I don’t know exactly what will happen when we spend four nights together in the desert. But I can’t wait to find out.
Dr. Karissa Burnett (she/her)
Autistic Depth Psychologist
Ready to Join Us in Joshua Tree?
Priority List members can now register for The Autistic Healer before public registration opens October 1st.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything You Might Want to Know Before You Join Us:
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Yes. Each registered therapist may bring one partner or carer for an additional $2,995. Partner/carer registration includes shared accommodations with the therapist, meals and snacks, designated excursions, and shared retreat experiences. CE workshops and associated formation activities are reserved for registered therapist participants.
You do not need to decide about a partner/carer when you register for the retreat. If you know you want to attend but aren’t sure yet whether someone will come with you, you can add a partner/carer later. The $2,995 total price will remain the same, though the number and timing of payment-plan installments may vary depending on when the add-on is purchased.
Retreat bedrooms generally have one king bed, which the therapist and partner/carer would ordinarily share. If you or your partner/carer need a different sleeping arrangement for access or caregiving reasons, contact us at admin@divergentpathways.com so we can discuss what may be possible.
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If you're self-employed, The Autistic Healer may qualify as a business and professional-development expense, including qualifying travel costs.
The retreat is designed around the professional development of Autistic therapists, including continuing education, facilitated professional reflection and formation, and connection with other clinicians. Depending on your individual tax circumstances, expenses associated with attending may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses.
If you add personal travel before or after the retreat, those additional expenses may be treated differently. You will want to keep your registration and travel records and check with your tax professional about how the deduction applies to your situation.
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You can choose what you participate in throughout the retreat. The sound bath at the Integratron and time in Joshua Tree National Park are optional, and you’re welcome to stay at the property instead.
Spaciousness is an intentional part of the retreat design. There will be scheduled workshops, meals, excursions, and opportunities to gather, but the days will also include substantial unstructured time.
You might spend that time swimming, soaking in a hot tub, reading outside, taking a nap, talking with someone, wandering around the property, or going back to your room and closing the door.
Your free time is yours.
For therapists seeking CE credit, attendance requirements will apply to the specific CE sessions for which you want to receive credit.
A more detailed schedule will be shared as the retreat approaches.
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You’ll be in good company. The retreat will include facilitated opportunities for conversation and reflection, as well as shared meals and optional experiences.
There will also be plenty of room to step away and recharge. The structure is being designed so connection can happen naturally while still leaving room for people to regulate, rest, and engage at their own pace.
You won’t have to be socially available all day, and you won’t have to figure out connection entirely on your own.
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May in Joshua Tree is typically warm and dry, with daytime temperatures often in the 80s and cooler evenings in the 60s.
The property has multiple pools and hot tubs, so there should be plenty of opportunities to swim, soak, or sit by the water during free time.
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All meals and snacks during the retreat will be included. I’ll collect detailed dietary and food-related access needs from registered participants in advance so the food can be planned thoughtfully.
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergy-related, MCAS-related, food sensitivity, and other dietary needs will be accommodated wherever possible.
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Community health is something I care about and am thinking carefully about as I plan this retreat. Autistic adults have significant intersections with chronic illness and disability, and I want to be thoughtful about the fact that bringing people together from various locations also means bringing our exposures together.
Because many participants will be traveling by air, I’m asking anyone who flies to the retreat to wear a well-fitting N95 or KN95 mask in airports and on the plane, with reasonable exceptions when needed. Partners and carers traveling to the retreat are asked to do the same.
I chose this particular precaution because it asks relatively little of us while potentially reducing the chance of someone bringing COVID-19 or another respiratory illness into a small group that will be eating, learning, and spending several days together.
If you develop symptoms before or during the retreat, I’ll ask that you let me know so we can figure out what additional precautions make sense for the group.
These expectations may be updated as we get closer to May 2027 based on current public-health conditions and guidance. If you have a disability or medical need that affects your ability to follow these precautions, please reach out so we can talk about reasonable modifications.
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Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) will be the primary airport for the retreat. Rideshare services (e.g., Uber) are readily available at PSP, so you’ll be able to head directly to the retreat property when you arrive instead of waiting for a group shuttle.
Return transportation to Palm Springs Airport will be provided at the end of the retreat.
You do not need to rent a car. If you picture spending your free time relaxing at the property, there will be plenty to do without one. If you’d like more freedom to explore Joshua Tree or the surrounding area on your own during free time, you’re welcome to rent a car.
Specific arrival and departure windows, the retreat address, and detailed travel information will be provided to registered participants well in advance.
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Yes. Payment plans are available for the $5,995 therapist registration, and for the $2,995 partner/carer rate as well.
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A $222 nonrefundable registration fee is included in therapist registration ($111 for partners/carers). This fee covers payment-processing and administrative costs associated with registration and is not refundable if you cancel.
For registrations cancelled on or before December 31, 2026, all payments beyond the $222 and/or $111 registration fee will be refunded.
For cancellations between January 1 and February 21, 2027, 50% of the total registration price will be refunded.
Beginning February 22, 2027, registration will be nonrefundable.
Payment plans are available, with the longest payment-plan options available to those who register earlier. All retreat balances will be due by February 21, 2027.
Please read the full Terms & Conditions before you register.
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The Autistic Healer requires minimum enrollment to move forward. The retreat will be officially confirmed no later than February 22, 2027.
If Divergent Pathways cancels the retreat because minimum enrollment has not been reached, 100% of all retreat payments will be refunded, including the $222 registration fee.
Please wait until the retreat has been officially confirmed before purchasing nonrefundable airfare or making other nonrefundable travel arrangements.
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I don’t currently have another date scheduled.
The Autistic Healer is beginning with this May 2027 retreat, and I want to experience this first gathering before deciding what future retreats might look like.
If you feel drawn to it and this timing works for you, I wouldn’t assume there will be another one. -
The retreat itself is May 19–23, 2027, and additional nights at the retreat property will not be included.
If you’d like to spend more time in the desert before or after the retreat, I’ll provide nearby lodging recommendations and travel information to registered participants.
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You can reach out to me directly at admin@divergentpathways.com before the retreat with questions, concerns, or access needs. Once you’re registered, I’ll also provide opportunities to share information that will help me plan for your needs before you arrive.
During the retreat, you’ll receive clear information about who to contact if something comes up. I’ll be facilitating the retreat, and there will also be on-site logistical support so you won’t have to wait until I’m between workshops to get help with a practical issue.
More detailed contact and emergency information will be provided to registered participants before arrival.