Bio

Dr. Ellen Soukup-Landeau is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Clinic Director of OpenWorld Psychology's Washington location. She specializes in autism evaluation and neurodiversity-affirming therapy across the lifespan, working with individuals and families to support accurate diagnosis, self-understanding, and meaningful connection. Her clinical approach is trauma-informed, strengths-based, and grounded in a commitment to destigmatizing care.

“Great-Fit” Clients

Dr. Soukup-Landeau may be a particularly good fit if you or your family are:

• Neurodivergent individuals seeking to better understand themselves and build a meaningful life aligned with their values

• Parents looking to better understand and connect with their neurodivergent children

• Seeking a comprehensive neurodevelopmental evaluation with attention to diagnostic clarity and practical, strengths-based recommendations

• Looking for care that is trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming, and queer-affirming, grounded in respect for your lived experience

• Navigating questions of identity and self-discovery related to neurodivergence

Autism Evaluation Across the Lifespan

Dr. Soukup-Landeau has advanced training in autism evaluation for children, adolescents, and adults. She completed specialized training through the UCSF Pediatric STAR Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, including certification in the ADOS-2 (Modules 1-5 and Toddler Module), and trained at UCSF General Hospital's 0-5 Multidisciplinary Assessment Clinic.

Her assessment approach emphasizes diagnostic clarity, psychometric rigor, and strengths-based understanding. She integrates cognitive testing, behavioral measures, developmental history, and contextual factors to develop a complete picture of each individual. Reports are clear, practical, and designed to provide actionable recommendations for clients, families, schools, and other professionals.

Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy

Dr. Soukup-Landeau provides individual and family therapy grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and client-centered, trauma-informed approaches. Her work often focuses on identity and self-discovery, helping neurodivergent clients understand their cognitive, emotional, and sensory profiles and build lives aligned with their values.

She creates a therapeutic environment that is respectful, collaborative, and affirming, including for clients who identify as LGBTQIA+. Dr. Soukup-Landeau also supports parents in understanding their neurodivergent children and strengthening connection through neurobiological and relationship-based strategies.

Parent Support and Training

Dr. Soukup-Landeau provides parent support using neurobiological and connection-based strategies, helping parents understand their child's neurodevelopmental profile and build stronger, more attuned relationships. She collaborates with teachers and school teams to advocate for client needs and facilitate strengths-based educational planning.

Leadership and Training

As Clinic Director, Dr. Soukup-Landeau oversees clinical operations for the Washington location and supervises doctoral and master's level trainees. She leads interdisciplinary collaboration with occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists to ensure holistic care, and delivers trainings on autism, neurodiversity, and inclusive clinical practices.

Prior to joining OpenWorld, she served as Assistant Clinical Director at Beautiful Autism in Arlington, Washington, a Center of Excellence for autism diagnosis in the state.

Training and Background

Dr. Soukup-Landeau earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University with an emphasis in child and family therapy and assessment. Her dissertation, Neurodiversity: Exploring a Biopsychosocial Approach to Stigma Reduction for ASD, examined how therapeutic and terminological frameworks shape attitudes toward autism, with implications for reducing stigma.

She completed her APA-accredited internship at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, training across child and adolescent inpatient and outpatient programs and the Sharp McDonald Center, an adult substance use disorder residential program. Her internship emphasized trauma-informed care, psychodiagnostic assessment, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Tormala, T.T., Patel, S.G., Soukup, E.E., & Clarke, A.V. (2018). Developing measurable cultural competence and cultural humility: An application of the cultural formulation. Training and Education in Professional Psychology.

• Soukup, E.E., Barba, F., Duong, X., & Russell, R.L. (2016). Children without nature versus the nature of children. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Denver, CO.

• Soukup, E.E., Duong, X., Barba, F., Beard, C., & Russell, R.L. (2016). Impact of climate change on human mental health. Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association Convention, Long Beach, CA.

• Tormala, T., Patel, S.G., Soukup, E.E., & Clark, A. (2016). Cultivating cultural competence and cultural humility among student trainees. Poster presented at the California Psychological Association Convention, Irvine, CA.

• Muller, H.A., Ma, V.K., Soukup, E.E., & Patel, S.G. (2015). "It's hard to understand my problems": A qualitative study of life stressors among newcomer adolescent immigrants. Poster presented at Winter Roundtable, Columbia University, New York, NY.