Speaking and Training

Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW is a clinician, consultant, and author specializing in early psychosis, schizophrenia spectrum conditions, and recovery-oriented systems of care. She provides training, consultation, and speaking engagements for clinical teams, state systems, and continuing education programs.

Her work integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), neurodiversity-affirming practice, and her lived experience to support more effective engagement, reduce stigma-driven treatment barriers, and improve recovery outcomes in early psychosis systems.

She currently consults with Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) early psychosis programs 

in Missouri.

A practical and systems-focused keynote on how to engage individuals experiencing psychosis without requiring insight or agreement with diagnosis. Emphasizes collaboration, moving beyond fear-based models and compassionate approaches to psychosis care.

Autism is a common comorbidity in psychosis and other mental health conditions. In this workshop, we explore these crossroads and how clinicians and clinics can meet the needs of neurodivergent clients.

Examines how clinician expectations, diagnostic framing, and institutional bias influence treatment decisions and recovery trajectories in mental health.

A skills-based training on applying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles to psychosis, including distress, paranoia, and voice hearing experiences.

An in-depth training exploring neurodiversity and adaptations of therapeutic the  strategies in meet the needs of autistic clients

In addition to keynote presentations, Jennifer offers interactive trainings for clinical teams and systems-level staff development, including:

• ACT-informed approaches to psychosis 
• Engagement strategies for early psychosis programs 
• Neurodiversity-affirming mental health care 
• Trauma-informed approaches to paranoia and distress 
• Recovery-oriented systems of care (CSC model implementation) 
• Offering workshops from 1 hour in length to multiple days

• 
  
• Author of The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook
  The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook 
• Psychology Today contributor: Beyond Mental Health: Defying Stigma and False Limitations (300+ published articles since 2023 on topics related to psychosis, depression, autism, therapy, and recovery) 
• Consultant, Early Psychosis Care Missouri
• Trainer and continuing education speaker through PESI 

Kind Words

"  Very interactive with us in a structured way that had good flow- that was awesome. "

" This was a phenomenal training! I learned so much more than I expected, and I was already excited about the training. Jennifer Gerlach was great at taking time throughout thetraining to answer our many questions and provide examples, resources, and many, many, interventions. I am very grateful I was able to attend this training. Thank you so much! "

"Jennifer Gerlach was by far the best session that I attended at the conference. She allowed people to ask questions along the way and answered questions

that they had with grace and understanding. Jennifer was transparent enough to share that she struggled as a child with a lot of issues that she is now

helping others with. You can tell how she had a calling to counseling and she can relate because she lived through it. I hope you have her present again!"

"Nice presentation. She had good knowledge of the materials presented. Interesting and interactive take on working with individuals with mental health needs."

Podcast Appearances

Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery: A Workbook of Activities, and Hope (Ep. 64) 

Episode 32 - Creating an Identity as an Autistic Adolescent 

You're Not Broken! 

Jennifer Gerlach: Family Dynamics and Caregiving With Mental Health | All Together #69 

Episode 124 - Surviving a Major Depressive Episode - Jennifer Gerlach 

Hope: A Rational Perspective on Mental Health with Jennifer Gerlach 

On Demand

Therapy with Autistic Clients: Empowering Teens and Adults through ACT, CFT, DBT, and Self-Compassion (pesi.com) 

Neurodiversity in Women: Therapeutic Strategies for Empowering Women with Autism or ADHD 

The Autism Self-Acceptance Toolkit: Cultivating Authenticity and Empowerment with ACT and Compassion 

Treating Complex Trauma & Self-Hatred One-Day Workshop 

For speaking inquiries, trainings, or consultation:

True Story Counseling
Email: jennifergerlach@truestorycounseling.com

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