Heidi Lack

My Personal Statement on Mental Health for the Gifted

Being gifted and/or twice or multi-exceptional, by definition means experiencing the world neurodivergently. Giftedness can present in quantifiable or intangible ways, some of which challenge our sense of what is possible. Coming from a strengths-based perspective, our collaborative work aims to recognize uniqueness, and foster the development of new skills or approaches in keeping with one’s vision, values, and goals, to live a life of meaning. While some people who are gifted also experience mental health challenges or diagnoses, this lens is applicable only once the manifestations and intensities of giftedness, and the existential/spiritual questions, have been recognized. As a licensed credentialed professional I am trained to discern when it is advantageous to the individual to screen for, or utilize medical, psychiatric, social, or diagnostic labels, and to share the empirically-based and creative skills necessary if/when they may be of service to ones’ greatest sense of emotional, social, intellectual, physical, sensory, spiritual, existential, creative, and autonomous value-led functioning. I am a seasoned licensed psychologist (PhD, CSPP), Health Service Provider (HSP), Harvard-trained with a specialization in the field of behavioral medicine (mind-body connection). I am also a board certified, registered Art Therapist (MA, Lesley U, AATA, ATCB), artist, SoulCollage® facilitator, published spiritual educator, trained in, and personally familiar with Misophonia, sensory sensitivities, overexcitabilities, giftedness, 2e, multipotentiality, ADHD, neurodiversity, neuropsychological testing, CBT/DBT/ACT/PBT, and gifted/2e parenting. I am available for psychotherapy/counseling, coaching and consultation, to facilitate workshops and to speak at events. Originally, I trained in, taught (Lesley U) and supervised art therapy, and then studied psychology and neuropsychological assessment. The bulk of my career has been as a clinical psychologist in the field of Behavioral Medicine (Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA, Mind/Body connection). As a staff psychologist at the Hallowell Centers (ADHD) and in private practice, I specialized in evaluating and supporting those with ADHD/ADD (individual and group formats, specializing in women), developing and teaching a self-regulation model of ADHD to adults, teens, schools, and coaching AD/HD couples. The prevalence of sensory processing differences co-existing with AD/HD led to pivoting my practice to supporting neurodivent clients and training clinicians in the complexity of Misophonia (intense sensory intolerance with emotional reactivity). Most of my clients are gifted, or twice exceptional (2e) in their unique ways, and experience asynchronies-aspects of functioning that are discordant, some very high, others average or lower, and are thus in need of understanding their complex profiles, of developing any lagging skills, and celebrating the interconnectivity of their exceptional wiring. For over a decade I have co-created and volunteered as an Intentional Parenting© group facilitator in schools, applying self-reflection, mindfulness, and character trait values to community building and parenting. I continuing to advocate, educate, and support individuals and parents who navigate the intense experience and interactive worlds of those gifted, those with sensory processing differences/misophonia, and those with attentional variabilities, in any combination. Living in an intense, multi-exceptional creative household, our family is familiar with having to make informed, individualized educational or professional choices out of respect for our neurologically divergent needs. As a ‘seeker’ and fellow creative, I too hear the call to experience the convergence between science and spirituality, the realms of the metaphysical, transpersonal, existential, and the grounding force of Life experienced in the natural world. As a labyrinth creator, and publisher of ethical character trait/value cards, I too endeavor to walk in balance, to maintain my center, and listen to synchronicity. I facilitate thematic SoulCollage® groups, conduct process-oriented art workshops, as well as lifestyle ceremonies to mark developmental passages, process grief, heal trauma, and to create beauty and harmony. I try to carve out time for my own replenishing pursuits, such as the visual arts (paint, collage, art quilting), poetic expressions, writing down the books percolating in my mind, creating pentatonic music (crystal singing bowls), walking in the woods, and tending to my spiritual practices and communities. Helping clients experience themselves, and their loved ones, through the lens of growth, and helping them align with their purpose provides me great fulfillment. I relish helping clients make intentional choices for themselves, their families, their work, or their developmental life stage, including at the end of life.

Education and Credentials

PhD
Ph.D.

Specialized Areas

Autism

Age ranges served

Adolescents (12 to 17 years old)

Languages Spoken

English

Experience

15-Nov

Nationally Licensed

No

Services Offered

Treatment: Counseling - Individual

Treatment Modalities

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Gifted Training

CEU/training

Service Format

Virtual

Payment Format

Private Pay

Client Speciality

Deaf/Hard of Hearing