Jessica Penot, LPC-S

Jessica Penot, LPC-S, is a supervising licensed professional counselor in Madison, Alabama, who specializes in treating trauma and supporting autistic people. She has more than twenty years of clinical experience, is founder and director of Tree of Life Behavioral Health, and has spoken and written about autism on platforms, including The Art of Autism and Psychology Today. Penot was diagnosed autistic in her forties, and has spent a significant amount of time working to understand the specific challenges and traumas autistic women face. Her research and work focus primarily on issues involving the underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of autistic women, and the impact it has on their lives and mental health. She is an advocate for neuro-affirmative approaches to treatment, and works to help facilitate autistic women in moving from being self-critical to self-compassionate. Her perspective on autism comes not only from her clinical experience, research, and study, but also from her lived experience.