For when the weight of the world is on your shoulders
“Atlas Counseling ensures young adults with ADHD and Autism get the support they need to achieve independence during critical life transitions.”
About Our Staff
Royce Manifold - LPC, CRC
Royce Manifold is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). He obtained his Master's of Education in clinical rehabilitation counseling at Pennsylvania State University.
He has over a decade of experience working with young adults and teens with learning differences (most commonly high-functioning autism and ADHD) and their comorbidities (most commonly anxiety and depression) in academic and residential settings. More broadly, he works with clients navigating a wide range of life transitions and their impact on wellbeing and functioning.
In his clinical practice, Royce combines cognitive, behavioral, and environmental methods to provide clients with a minimally disruptive, personalized approach while providing the most direct outcomes. These treatments are presented through a goal-oriented, client-focused approach grounded in humanistic and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
His current area of focus is working with clients, particularly individuals with invisible disabilities, who are about to experience or are undergoing their post-secondary education transition to college/employment and supporting them as they achieve their desired level of independence during that critical window.
Primary areas of specialization:
ADHD, high-functioning autism, executive functioning, depression, life transitions, and anxiety.
Areas of continuing education to meet current client need(s):
Grief, agoraphobia, OCD, Men’s issues, existential counseling, and individual sexual concerns.
Practice Details
-
Accepted Insurances: Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Husky, and Magellan.
Individual Session Cost: $200 per clinical hour.
Accepted Payment Methods: Check, all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express), ACH bank transfers (eChecks), and digital wallets like Apple Pay.
-
Target Client Population: Clients ages 16 - 30 with learning disabilities, executive functioning issues, high-functioning autism, and/or ADHD symptomology going through the post-secondary transition to college and/or employment.
General Client Population: Clients 16+ seeking primarily CBT, Humanistic, or Multicultural counseling to help address familiar/novel life struggles and patterns to develop confidence navigating life demands independently.
-
Specialties: ADHD, High-Functioning Autism, Executive Functioning, Life-Transitions, Depression and Anxiety.
Expertise: Grief, Agoraphobia, OCD, Men’s Issues, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Health Anxiety, Video Game Addiction, Stress, Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem, Relationship Anxiety, Relationship Issues, Parenting, Individual Sexual Concerns, and Neurodivergence.
Modalities (Therapeutic Approaches): Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Existential, Humanistic, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Motivational Interviewing, Multicultural, Feminist, Goal-Focused, Bibliotherapy, and Person-Centered.
-
Why Atlas Counseling? The choice of name isn’t as apparent as it might seem. We are not named after Atlas in the manner most companies are; while they try to evoke strength, prominence, and importance as a “Titans” in the industry, Atlas Counseling’s name is rooted in a more humble aspect Atlas’s mythology.
In Atlas’s most prominent story, Hercules offers to hold the sky up for Atlas in exchange for Atlas to grab golden apples guarded by a dragon for his 11th ordeal. Upon gathering the apples, Atlas, finally freed from the weight of the sky, offers to deliver them, looking to leave Hercules with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
At this point, it is narrated that both Atlas and Hercules are attempting to trick each other into keeping the burden of holding up the sky. But Hercules was at a disadvantage, as Atlas was already free of the burden he had borne for countless years and had enough memory to know he would never want to accept it again. At this point, Atlas could have just left.But he didn’t, and when Hercules requested that Atlas take the sky again so that he could adjust his tunic and footwork to be more comfortable, he accepted the burden once more. The myth goes on to explain that Atlas was tricked back into holding the sky while the protagonist Hercules continued his trials.
But I reject this interpretation as it underplays what transpired. Atlas returns with the apples, though he didn’t need to. Atlas accepted the burden of the sky when Hercules displayed discomfort, though he did not have to. These are not traits of a dumb, self-serving Titan.
Atlas displayed and acted on Empathy for the situation even when so much was at stake for him personally. When split between serving himself and supporting another, even at that great personal cost, he chose Empathy. It is this realized ideal that Atlas holds, which Atlas Counseling hopes to embody. Even the root words that crafted Atlas’s name translate to 'to uphold, support,’ which also informs us of his character.
For this reason, Atlas Counseling was named. Our goal is not only to support others with empathy as our core directive, but also to uphold the ethical and moral practices that make for successful counseling.
Contact Us
Taking the first step toward support can feel significant, and we’re glad you’re here.
To get started, please complete the contact form to the right. Include your availability and a brief description of what you’d like to address during our work together. We’ll review your information, follow up with details about scheduling a consultation or intake appointment, and answer any questions you may have.
If you prefer, you can also reach us by: Phone: (860) 269-5252 Fax: (475) 306-6786
Voicemail and email are monitored Monday through Thursday. We strive to respond as promptly as possible during those business days.