Show Notes

In this episode, Patrick Casale and Dr. Kade Sharp, an autistic, queer, trans clinician and sexologist, talk about their journey balancing private practice, a PhD program, and advocacy for disabled, queer, and neurodivergent communities.

Here are 3 key takeaways:

1. Follow Your Special Interests: Choosing a dissertation topic that aligned with Kade's passions (like “Kink on the Spectrum”) helped them stay motivated through the ups and downs of getting a PhD. Leaning into what energizes you can be your best fuel.
2. Intentional Energy Management is Vital: Balancing private practice, academic work, and personal life required continuous adjustment for Kade. Building in buffer time for self-care and allowing others to help you recognize burnout cues is essential for sustainability.
3. Community Makes the Difference: Surrounding yourself with people invested in your journey boosts motivation, creativity, and resilience. Finding your supportive community matters.

It's important to work toward creating affirming space and more accessible, representative mental health care. If you’re considering a new degree, niche, or direction—let your interests and passions guide you.

More about Kade:

Dr. Kade Sharp (he/they) is an Autistic, queer, trans Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Certified Sex Therapist, and Child Mental Health Specialist practicing in Washington state. He specializes in supporting disabled, queer, non-cis Autistic and AuDHD clients of all ages, as well as neurodivergent supervisees. He has his PhD in Clinical Sexology through Modern Sex Therapy Institutes. Kade runs the Curious Cryptid Learning continuing education platform for therapists. He is also a co-host for the Aces Up Your Sleeve Podcast, where he and Sabrina Longley give insight into navigating Autistic and AuDHD life as two Autistic, asexuality-spectrum therapists. Kade loves helping people figure out they're Autistic, playing board and card games, roleplaying, reality TV, true crime, and his 2 adopted senior cats.

The Autistic Clinical Insights symposium is coming up, and Kade is on the Leadership team. It's a grassroots, Autistic-led symposium for mental health professionals with a focus on presenters with lived experience and clinical knowledge. It's held virtually Nov. 14-16th and offers over 13 NBCC CEs. Join here: autisticclinicalinsights.com

• Courses: cryptidlearns.com
• Podcast: neurokink.org/auys
• Facebook: facebook.com/cryptidlearns
• Instagram: instagram.com/cryptidlearns

🎙️Listen to more episodes of the All Things Private Practice Podcast here
🎙️Spotify
🎙️Apple
🎙️YouTube Music
▶️ YouTube
✈️ Check out available Retreats
🗨️ Join the free Empowered Escape FB Community
🗨️ Join the free All Things Private Practice FB Community

A Thanks to Our Sponsors: The Receptionist for iPad & Alma!

✨The Receptionist for iPad

I want to thank The Receptionist for iPad for sponsoring this episode.

This podcast is sponsored by The Receptionist for iPad, a digital check-in system that eliminates the need to walk back and forth from your office to the waiting room to see if your next appointment has arrived. Clients can securely check-in for their appointments and you'll be immediately notified by text, email, or your preferred channel. Break free from interruptions and make the most of your time. I've been using them for almost three years now and it saves me hours in my week.

Start a 14-day free trial of The Receptionist for iPad by going to thereceptionist.com/privatepractice. Make sure to start your trial with that link. And you'll also get your first month free if you decide to sign up.

✨Alma

I want to thank Alma for sponsoring this episode.

Building and managing the practice you want can be challenging. That’s why Alma offers tools and resources to help you build not just any practice, but your private practice. They’ll help you navigate insurance, access referrals who are the right fit for you, and efficiently manage administrative tasks — so you can spend less time on the details and more time delivering great care. You support your clients. Alma supports you.

Visit helloalma.com/ATPP to learn more.

Transcript

PATRICK CASALE: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the All Things Private Practice podcast. I'm joined today by Dr. Kade Sharp. He is an autistic queer, trans, licensed independent clinical social worker. I just get all these acronyms wrong for license types, registered play therapist supervisor, certified sex therapist, and child mental health specialist, practicing in Washington State.

He specializes in supporting disabled, queer, non-cis, autistic, and AuDHD clients of all ages, as well as neurodivergent supervisees. He has his PhD in clinical sexology through the Modern Sex Therapy Institutes. Kade loves helping people figure out that they're autistic, playing board and card games, role-playing, reality TV, true crime, and his two adopted senior cats.

The Autistic Clinical Insight symposium is coming up, and he is on the leadership team and would love to also talk about that. So, we're going to touch on that at the end of the podcast as well.

Welcome to the show. My brain is going very slowly as I butcher some of that bio. So, I apologize. Did I miss anything?

KADE SHARP: No, you got it all. That's me in a nutshell.

PATRICK CASALE: I hate hearing Bios being read about me. So, I don't know how you feel about your own. But I would get used to it because I'm seeing you put yourself into more and more spaces for that to happen.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. It's an interesting thing to be an autistic trans person who doesn't like to be perceived, but really wants to get certain information out there and normalize things for folks and validate folks. Yeah, I'm with you on the awkwardness of the bio.

PATRICK CASALE: [CROSSTALK 00:02:30].

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah. So, I was just telling Kade off-air that I've done a podcast batching marathon, and you are episode recording 17 of the week. So, I'm going to do my best to drive this and have this conversation.

And you have a lot of topics of interest to me, so I'm trying to think of, like, how do we fit this all into 30 minutes? One thing you said before we started recording was, like, the combination of, how do we balance it all out as you were going through your PhD program as an autistic human being, managing that energy, managing the burnout, managing just the capacity piece, I think, is huge. But there's also a part of me that's like, we could talk about the kink piece, we could talk about the sex piece, we could talk about the play therapy piece. So, you steer the ship. Where do you want to start?

KADE SHARP: Well, what I love is that it all kind of ties in to each other, you know? What is kink but play? You know? Yeah, how do we take care of ourselves? Some of that involves play. I think if we want to start with a PhD piece, we could start there. Maybe some of your listeners would find some value in that. Maybe they're considering going and pursuing a different degree type or certification.

PATRICK CASALE: Absolutely. Yeah, let's do it. So, how recently did you get your PhD?

KADE SHARP: I think it officially conferred in January of 2024. So, I had it a little over a year.

PATRICK CASALE: That's huge. When you were embarking upon that, were you thinking like, "Yeah, this sounds fucking awesome. I'm really excited to take on the dissertation piece and everything that comes with it."

KADE SHARP: Well, truly, what led me to it was figuring out I was autistic and realizing what a gap there is in diagnosis here in Washington state where I practice. And I looked at the codes, you know, the RCWs, and WACs that say, "Here is specifically who can diagnose this." And it was a little vague at the time. And it spoke about PhD-level, doctorate-level folks. And I thought, "Well, if I'm going to go back to school so that I can help the community more, what would be interesting?"

PATRICK CASALE: Sure, yeah, it's a great pivot point, for sure.

KADE SHARP: Yeah. Well, and looking at, too, how much time will these take? Because, you know, can I go back to school for eight-ish years to get a psychiatry or psychology degree and do the clinical supervision piece to make sure that I can test and evaluate and X, Y, Z?

PATRICK CASALE: Absolutely, absolutely. That's a lot to take on, because I think that we often feel like not responsible when we are parts of these communities, but we do feel this calling to ensure that there is more accessibility, and more affirming care, and more knowledge.

So, energy-wise, how did you balance the PhD program as you were also navigating life, and were you also in private practice at the time?

KADE SHARP: I was. I was about a year into private practice, and it's about the same time I figured out I was autistic. So, lots of pivotal, yeah, you know?

PATRICK CASALE: Lots of milestones, lots of transition points, and lots of things to unpack. And I think a lot of people who maybe haven't had that discovery in life don't understand the amount of energy and capacity that it takes in order to deconstruct the entire life that you've existed in.

KADE SHARP: Oh yeah, yeah. So much looking back on things going, "Oh, it makes sense." But also, sometimes the grief or the feelings of, why did nobody notice? You know?

PATRICK CASALE: Yes, yes. The grief relief process that I talk about so often is so freaking real. And it's like I struggled so much of that of myself back in 2021 when I first was diagnosed. And there was a lot of deconstruction. And honestly, a lot of unlearning and a lot of learning. And fast forward four years, and I would say there's still a lot of that going on. And if we're saying that for ourselves, then what does it mean for providers who don't really get it?

KADE SHARP: Oh, absolutely, yeah. And I think that was a big place where I gathered a lot of momentum and energy, was the feelings that were coming up inside for me, I was like, I don't want other people to have to experience this alone or with the providers that were offering those types of services in our kind of local area. Yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Absolutely. So, you saw that need and wanted to fill that gap a bit, you go back to this PhD program. Now, let me ask, are you AuDHD or autistic?

KADE SHARP: I'm autistic with a Vyvanse prescription.

PATRICK CASALE: Okay.

KADE SHARP: You know, I have not been officially diagnosed as an ADHDer by a psychiatrist, or psychologist, or someone in the mental health field, but my doctor's like, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure." And so, it resonates with me. And you know, someone who had been told, like, wow, you've just got treatment resistant depression and anxiety. Yeah, ADHD meds really make a difference.

PATRICK CASALE: That's pretty telling. And if we go with the research of 50 to 70% of autism or AuDHD, let's just say, even if you have autism, ADHD traits, if you're in this PhD program, I have enough time, like, hard enough time balancing my energy, working from home, running businesses. But I cannot imagine adding, like, an intense doctorate into the mix. How the hell did you balance that?

KADE SHARP: I upfront did a lot of research upfront. So, if anyone's considering going into a program research the heck out of it, figure out how much time is it going to take you. What are deadlines on things? What's the quarter or semester schedule like? When are most people graduating? Because they might tell you, "You can do this in two years, four years, six years." But if everybody else is graduating an additional two years later, you want to know that. So, I did a lot of research.

PATRICK CASALE: So, that autistic part that you didn't really know much about was really helping to accommodate some of this?

KADE SHARP: Oh yeah, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: A lot of it. Yeah. I like that.

KADE SHARP: Love a good spreadsheet. Love some good research. So, upfront, you know, comparing and contrasting, and also the cost. You know, if I have to decrease my caseload a little, financially, what will that look like to afford the program? And does the content align with my interests?

PATRICK CASALE: That's huge.

KADE SHARP: So, looking at all the potential doctorates, clinical sexology was the one that called out to me the most, because ever since I was young, I've been so interested in humans. Why they do what they do, especially people that are kind of on the fringe of society or in counterculture spaces. So, I thought, let's do that.

Most of my clients at the time, who were, heck, even some of my teens and adults, like, they were interested in kink. They're trans, they're queer, they need better sex education. They want support. They want someone who gets it, who brings ideas to the table. And I thought, "Well, let's go there. Let's go check this out."

And I think that was a big motivating factor, too. I'm sure you've probably talked about it before on this podcast, but for autistic folks that, like, meditative flow state we get into when it's a special interest.

PATRICK CASALE: Mm-hmm (affirmative) monotropic focus is one of my favorite places to be, because I think that's when I feel the most, maybe alive, yeah, alive. I think that's when I feel the most alive. And everything else, all the outside noise, right? The sensory overwhelm, everything else kind of dissipates, and like falls to the surface. And for me, it's just a wonderfully peaceful, enjoyable place to be that I try to find so often in life and have such a hard time accessing.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. I feel you there. Another benefit to this program was that it was primarily on the weekends, so I could kind of turn off, like, client-facing brain and really dive in.

PATRICK CASALE: That's great. So, that feels like it makes it a bit more accessible as well. And then, how long does it take you to finish this out?

KADE SHARP: They said two years. It took me two and a half about and a little longer for the degree to actually confer, because of all the processes on their side, you know?

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah. I mean, it's a huge accomplishment.

KADE SHARP: Thanks, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: And it sounds like it's really informed a lot of practice going forward, and really helped you anchor into the things that you feel truly passionate about.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. It has been very transformative to some of the work that I do. A big piece that kept me going, too, was picking a dissertation topic that actually was very interesting and very close to home, really aligned with my values.

PATRICK CASALE: Right. What was your dissertation topic, if you don't mind me asking?

KADE SHARP: Yeah, it was called kink on the spectrum. And so, I looked at autistic folks and their experiences of empowerment with kink, because there is so much out there that is very disheartening to read about what people think about autistic people and intimacy, sex, kink, all of it.

PATRICK CASALE: Sure. So, you were able to find a dissertation topic that sounds kind of special interest-related.

KADE SHARP: Yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: And I imagine that really helped get through the ups and downs, and the energy wavering back and forth as you go through this program, as you maintain a caseload, as you are a trans human in the United States of America, and navigating all the fucking chaos that exists in this world with that. So, there was a lot of energy expenditure, I have to imagine. How did you support yourself? How did you protect your energy? How did you take care of yourself during that time?

KADE SHARP: Yeah, that was definitely a struggle, you know? Figuring out what's the balance, you know? Where the spaces you can kind of walk away from, especially in that second year, where the dissertation was the huge focus. Like, how do you step away from the research, the interviews, figuring out the themes?

And I think it was a kind of a balancing act that was ever evolving, which the autistic pieces of my brain were like, "Can we just get a schedule? Can we do the same thing over and over and somehow have that work?" And it didn't, you know? But I think making sure to carve out space where that wasn't the primary topic of conversation, or that my brain wasn't primarily there, space away from clients, too, because, like I said, so much of what they were discussing overlapped as well.

PATRICK CASALE: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, eating that reprieve, right? Just to have space for yourself, to decompress, and sensory soothe. And I would imagine, and you know, I could be wrong, that all of that could also be a fast track to autistic burnout.

KADE SHARP: Oh, absolutely, yeah. I think really pacing myself was important. And you know, that's not to say that sometimes I wasn't in burnout. There's definitely, you know, some health challenges that arose during that time that still are not fully resolved or mitigated, but making sure that I was aware of, like, "Oh, I'm noticing some stuff." And if I couldn't notice it, giving permission to my friends and family, like, point it out. If you see me getting, like, irritable out of nowhere or acting out of character.

PATRICK CASALE: Sure, yeah, that's huge to notice, like, those warning signs that were kind of approaching the place of no return, which is kind of where I find myself most days these days.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, especially when you're juggling so many projects, you know? I know you've got the podcasts, you've got retreats, you've got the group practice, like all those things. And I'm in a similar space of trying to figure out how do I, and now that I've got my PhD, it opens up new opportunities and new ways to focus in on the great info I learned through that. But how do you balance it all? It's tough.

PATRICK CASALE: That's the million-dollar question, Kade. If I figure that out, I'll certainly share it with everybody. But with that, you know, it sounds like when I read your bio, you have so many interests. So, where are you putting most of your energy, and your focus, and your time now that you are like, "Okay, I have this training. I like doing speaking. I like doing consultation, I do therapy. I do group work." Like, there's a lot that you're offering.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, I kind of follow where the energy is, you know? Like, I do a little pre-planning of my year schedule with some speaking engagements. So, I know, like in September, I'm doing two different play therapy-related trainings. And then, I'm also in October doing a kink-related one. And then, November, I've got some kink and some other stuff through the Autistic Clinical Insight symposium. So, I think it's also balancing it. I think if I did only play therapy all year, I would be kind of crispy about that topic.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, for sure. I like that there's a diversification of just interests as well, and just kind of watering each plant, so to speak. Because I think that for me, if my brain hyper focuses on like, "I can only do this one thing for the rest of the year." I think that would be hellacious, and I would really buck up against that, and I would really struggle with, like, feeling like the walls are closing in a little bit.

KADE SHARP: Absolutely. And you know, something we haven't talked about, that I definitely parasocially see you do, too, is surrounding yourself with people that are excited about the things you're doing. So, sometimes that motivation can carry me when I don't have the internal get-up-and-go, you know?

PATRICK CASALE: Oh, yeah. I mean, it can be kind of contagious, in a way, where it's like, okay, other people around are really excited for you. They're helping build you up within the context of your creative process. And for me, that has been unbelievably vital, just to have that circle of support and even people you can bounce ideas off of who might say, like, "Yay or nay." Or like, "Yeah, that sounds good, but maybe you could tweak it this way, and maybe you could look at it from this perspective." Really helps me kind of not feel so siloed and alone in it, because I do work from home. If I'm not traveling for retreats, I'm like, I'm in my house all the time, not often leaving it.

So, I think that's what a lot of people don't see on the outside, too, is for those of us who have more sensitive systems, who are more impacted energetically, we're going to need a lot of buffer time and downtime to just take care of our own neurology and our own needs.

KADE SHARP: Absolutely. You know, in regards to how I'm balancing things, my social life definitely took a bit of a dip during that process, and like it's slowly starting to recover now. But I spent a lot of time at home doing telehealth for clients, because that environment I could control. So, can't control the deadlines, can't control how the staff there or the professors are doing things, but I could control my environment, and a little bit of my schedule, and how I wanted to attack the dissertation process.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And just, you know, I think that allows your brain and your nervous system to regulate a little bit, to say, like, I can control these things, and that gives me a little bit more to anchor into, so I don't feel so untethered all the time and dysregulated.

KADE SHARP: Absolutely. And I think moving into, how do I use it in my practice, and like, what keeps my motivation going there to help balance things. I also find getting people interested in your interests can be very motivating.

So, I know you've had Sabrina Longley on the podcast before. We're knocking around some training ideas, and we're hoping to do a podcast that centers on more of the, like, kink relationship side of things for autistic folks.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, and I think that's amazing.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, it's like branching out a little bit for both of us, and really no pressure. You know, we're not going into it thinking we got to build this like, huge money-making podcast. It's more like, how can we help people? How can we get this info out there? What is most palatable to an audience? How would they like to receive it?

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, absolutely. It sounds like Sabrina would take the role of the extrovert in the dynamic and relationship.

KADE SHARP: Yes. Yeah. I love the energy that she brings and how it refuels her to be so social, because that has generally not been me.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, I can relate wholeheartedly. So, we do need, like, different types of energy in our lives to help build us up and support us and surround us with.

So, you attended a alternative income stream webinar that I did the other day and training.

KADE SHARP: Yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: And I'm hearing that you have a lot of different interests. You want to pursue a lot of these different ideas. How, for you, has it worked in terms of, like, how do I not spread myself thin between all of the things that I want to do if it [CROSSTALK 00:21:22].

KADE SHARP: Yeah, good question. I usually go the route of, like, spreading myself too thin and then being like, "Okay, as soon as these commitments are over, I'm going to have to scale it back."

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, that's kind of my MO as well. While I'm in it, I'm always like, okay, next year or next time, I won't do this to myself. And, yeah, I find myself having to do a lot of accountability, like checks and balances, and often not paying attention to them or blowing right past them.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. And I liked attending your webinar, because that is one place that I've struggled, is I've got all these interests, I've got all this knowledge. I want to share it, and I always forget about the money piece, you know?

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah.

KADE SHARP: And it's not to say that, like, because I live so comfortably I can disregard money, but it's to say that that is kind of my last priority.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, yeah, [CROSSTALK 00:22:12].

KADE SHARP: Which it should be higher, you know?

PATRICK CASALE: It depends, right? It's all dependent on situation, and values, and priorities. But I think there is a way to balance the both ends of like we can do a lot of good, and we can put a lot of creation into the world. And we can get paid to do it. Like I'm getting paid to talk to you right now. I have sponsors in place for this podcast, which still feels surreal to me, that people are paying me to sit in my office of my home and talk to people.

But I think there are ways to have an impact and a ripple effect, not only just locally, but on a global level, and not completely destroy yourself in the process, which is something that has really taken me a long time to figure out. And I feel hypocritical, because I'm in massive burnout right now, but like, I know 2026 will be different, at least, I'm saying that right now. I don't know if I actually believe that, but…

KADE SHARP: I think so many of us go through it, you know, figuring out how do you balance the things that bring you joy? The stuff that goes along with it? How do you outsource and delegate things where you can? How do you afford to do that? I mean, our current society doesn't make it easy to do things that bring you joy and sustain yourself.

PATRICK CASALE: No, no, it does not. And that's why I think, like, anchoring in and finding the people, like you mentioned, the community is huge, putting your interest and your passions into what's lighting you up right now. Like, what do I feel really energized by? What do I feel really excited about? If I can move in those directions and that becomes my job, then if I can marry that and get more into that monotropic focus space where I'm like, the ideas are just flowing. I'm writing, I'm creating. Right now, I feel really good. Then it feels like a victory for me. And it's hard, it's not always easy to access, but those are the ways that I've been trying to, like, look at it more and more throughout the stages of my career.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. I love that. And I think those are a lot of the things I keep in mind, too, yeah. And I'm excited, by the way, to see that you're working on a book. I hope that's not a secret at this point.

PATRICK CASALE: It is not a secret, but it's horrifying, nonetheless. Yeah, I think every step of the way makes it more real. And like, signing the contract with the publisher was like, "Okay, this is real." But then when it comes out into, like, media and publication, this becomes more real. It's a bit horrifying, if I'm being honest. But you know, that's kind of been my entire existence, of, like, think that everything is going to be horrible, and horrifically criticized, and not valuable, and experienced that the entire time, and then put it out into the world. So, I'm just going to follow the same track, I think.

KADE SHARP: I love it. Yeah, it's the very similar process for myself, you know? I worry about how it'll be received. Worry, why am I the one that people should trust with this information? I don't think I wrote anywhere when I reached out to participate on the podcast, but I just co-authored, well, I just authored two chapters on play therapy for trans kids and trans clients.

PATRICK CASALE: That's amazing.

KADE SHARP: And then, I'm working on one for autistic sexuality and exploring that in therapy. I'm co-authoring that. So, I know that fear of like being published and like, what will that mean? And you know, how will people receive it? Because every person is so different in what they need support around.

PATRICK CASALE: That's true. That's true. I wholeheartedly agree. I think Sabrina has helped me with some of that, because she's like, "You can't say the right thing for everybody. You're just not going to encapsulate everybody's autistic experience in your book. That's not a reality." And I'm like, "But I want it to be."

KADE SHARP: I know, I know, want to support everyone, but it's so hard.

PATRICK CASALE: It is. You know, how vulnerable was the process of just publishing those chapters. Like, I have found that writing this book and working on publishing it feels like the most soul-exposing experience of my entire life, and it's fucking overwhelming.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, well, especially with yours, where I assume you're going to give quite a bit of, like, biographical stuff. I didn't give much of that because they're textbook chapters, which felt safer for me to start with. Like, let's just see how this feels.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, absolutely, that makes a lot of sense. This is going to be like memoir plus like tangible strategy. So, yeah, it feels daunting. But, you know, I think that's a part of this journey is like, like you were mentioning before, you saw this need and this gap in Washington, and you were like, "I want to fill it."

And I think the more voices that are out there that are affirming of experiences that people feel so fucking isolated and alone with, because when we move more into, like, advocacy spaces and marginalized groups, we tend to surround ourselves with a lot of the same types of thoughts and opinions. It's really easy for me to forget that a lot of people don't talk about autism all day, every day. And a lot of people are going to read something and be like, "This is the first time I've ever felt understood in my entire life." And that's kind of what I'm trying to anchor into.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, when I give trainings and other trans and non-binary folks are there, I always worry, like, "Am I doing them justice? Like, are they going to walk away being like, 'Wow, this guy did not represent me or my experience at all. Didn't even mention it." But usually, after those trainings, in the evals, I get the feedback that they felt seen, that they felt like their clients were seen, and that they appreciated being in community.

PATRICK CASALE: I love that. I think that's huge. And that's just further reinforces that you are doing the work and like you're an asset to the community. So, really want to congratulate you on everything you're doing right now, and really, really cool to connect this way. Anything else that you want to add into this conversation while we're here.

KADE SHARP: I mean, just as a side note, you know, I started my practice, officially saw the first client in September of 2020. And so, August, I was listening and consuming, like, any and every bit of advice on opening a private practice and how to run one.

And if I'm remembering right, I think your podcast started right around then, because I recall for many months listening to what you were putting out and really appreciating it. It was you, and like, two or three other podcasts really helped me feel comfortable and confident in charging private pay rates, and really niching down, and working with very specific types of clients and feeling confident opening my doors. So, it was awesome. You know, listened to you for probably six months pretty darn consistently, and didn't see you for a while. You know, kind of lost track of podcasts because I was working and building things, and then, eventually, the PhD.

And then, one day, I saw you post in one of the mutual Facebook groups we're in about how you were autistic. And I just thought, "No wonder his content resonated with me so much." Because you and I have such different stories, you know? And I thought, "I don't know why I'm so drawn to him, but this is great." And, yeah, it's very cool that you're so open about that, because I think a lot of us feel represented and seen in that way.

PATRICK CASALE: Thank you. I really appreciate that. That means a lot to me. You know, when I started this podcast, I did not know that I was autistic. It took about a year after that. I was just in creation mode, and like, I was always wondering why people were so drawn to what I had to say or what I have to type. And then, I think, now, thinking back, it's like, okay, maybe autistic me is just showing up as authentically as possible because it doesn't know how to do things any differently. And yeah, it's been quite the journey. So, thank you for saying that. And I really do appreciate that quite a bit.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. I find that when we're putting ourselves out there authentically, when we're in charge of our own marketing, and our own taglines, and our own whatever, like we're drawn to each other. I mean, there's research that shows that we are drawn to each other, so it's pretty cool.

PATRICK CASALE: Absolutely. Thank you, Kade. Well, I really appreciate you coming on and sharing some of your story and your journey to get here. I'm unbelievably proud of you, of everything that you're doing. I see your name keep popping up, so just balance your energy as much as you can. I know how hard that is, but I know you have some stuff you want to share about stuff that's coming up, so take it away.

KADE SHARP: Yeah, yeah. If folks are looking for autistic and neurodivergent community, I would encourage them to check out the Autistic Clinical Insights symposium. It'll be November 14th through 16th of 2025. I think from 10:00 AM Eastern till six or so, depends on the day that weekend. And it's virtual, so you can attend from the comfort of your own environment.

I think there's like over 40 presenters, and you can earn up to 13 NBCC CEs. So, yeah, that should be a lot of fun. I'm on a couple panels. And I'm on the leadership team, so I'll definitely be there.

And then, if folks want to find me individually, my practice, which includes, like, peer consultation, therapy, all that the trainings. It's https://www.kadesharp.com/, or on Facebook, it's facebook.com/spectrumcouncil. You can find me and, later, Sabrina with our podcast at neurokink.org. And I think that's it. Yeah, thank you for your time today, Patrick.

PATRICK CASALE: You are so welcome, and everything that Kade just listed will be in the show notes so that everyone has access to those links and that information.

Thank you so much for coming on and spending your Friday afternoon with me. Well, I guess it's your Friday early afternoon with me.

KADE SHARP: Thank you.

PATRICK CASALE: And to everyone listening to the All Things Private Practice podcast, new episodes are out on Saturdays on all major platforms and YouTube. You can like, download, subscribe, and share. Doubt yourself, do it anyway. We'll see you next week.