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Chris Mercurio

Chris Mercurio

Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, CA

Autism and ADHD Assessment Specialist 

Helping You Make Sense of Patterns That Have Followed You Your Whole Life

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Many adults begin exploring autism or ADHD after years of feeling different, overwhelmed, or misunderstood without having language to explain why.

For some, this curiosity appears after burnout. For others, it emerges through relationship or workplace struggles that never fully make sense despite strong effort and insight.
 

I specialize in helping adults understand whether neurodivergence may be part of their story and helping you understand how your brain, nervous system, and relationships have adapted over time.
 

Assessment is not just about diagnosis. It is about building a clear, respectful map of how you function so you can move forward with better information and self-understanding.

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My Approach to Assessment

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I approach autism and ADHD assessment as a collaborative process rather than a checklist or labeling exercise.

The process typically includes clinical interviews, structured self-report measures, developmental history, and when helpful, optional input from people who know you well. The goal is to understand patterns across your life rather than relying on a single test or moment in time.
 

Together, we organize your lived experience into patterns that help explain:
 

  • Emotional regulation and stress responses

  • Sensory and nervous system differences

  • Communication and relational style

  • Executive functioning and daily life demands

  • Masking, burnout, and identity development
     

Many people describe the process as the first time their experiences have been connected in a way that actually makes sense.
 

When helpful, I also support clients in integrating new insights after assessment.

For many adults, late identification can bring relief, grief, clarity, and new questions all at once. We move at a pace that allows those changes to feel manageable and meaningful.

Personal Perspective

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My understanding of neurodivergence began early.

I grew up in a household shaped by a parent's undiagnosed ADHD, navigating different communication styles, emotional regulation patterns, and stress responses throughout childhood.

Those experiences taught me what it feels like to live inside relationships where people care deeply but operate from very different internal systems.
 

I also spent nearly twenty years working in technology environments where autistic and ADHD cognitive styles were common. That experience reinforced my view of neurodivergence as natural neurological variation rather than dysfunction.
 

I bring more than two decades of personal recovery experience as well. That perspective shapes how I understand patterns like burnout, avoidance, compulsive coping, and shame.

These patterns often develop as survival strategies when someone does not yet have the support or regulation tools their nervous system needs.

What Work Together Often Looks Like

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If therapy is part of your process, the focus is usually on helping you translate insight into daily life changes that actually hold.

That might include building emotional regulation skills, reducing burnout and masking fatigue, improving communication patterns, or developing systems that support executive functioning.
 

Sessions are structured, collaborative, and paced to what your nervous system can tolerate.

I also accommodate neurodivergent needs, including flexible eye contact, movement or fidgeting, and written or visual supports when helpful.

Additional Areas of Focus

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​In addition to individual assessment and therapy, I support neurodiverse couples navigating communication differences, emotional regulation patterns, and relational misunderstandings that often emerge when partners process the world differently.

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Personal Background

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  • Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, AMFT #156566

  • Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University 

  • Author of Therapy for Engineers and Everyone Else 

  • Nearly 20 of experience in technology and systems leadership prior to clinical practice

  • Supervised by Dr. Harry Motro,​ #53452

  • Employed by New Path Family of Therapy Centers

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A Final Note

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Many people arrive at assessment carrying questions they've held for a long time. If that question has been sitting with you, you are not alone.
 

The goal here is not to change who you are. It is to help you understand your patterns, make daily life feel less like it's working against you, and build a life that fits you more naturally.
 

If you're feeling curious about whether this process might be helpful, that curiosity is a meaningful place to begin.

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