Hello!

I'm Matt (he/him). Thanks for visiting my site!

As a clinical social work student-intern, I strive for a practice that is client-centered, neuroaffirming, ethnically and culturally sensitive, and LGBTQIA+ affirming. While I bring a wealth of academic knowledge and professional experience to my practice, having worked in a residential-community program for neurodivergent adults and in a high school social work setting, my practice is informed directly by my lived experience as an autistic-ADHD person. Social justice is important to me and I take a view of problems that includes not only the individual but the context of their environment and external forces which act upon that environment.

Through careful active listening and the gentle offering of empathy and genuine curiosity, I work to provide persons with whom I meet a safe and nonjudgmental space in which to explore their inner and outer lives, navigate problems and life transitions, and find solutions through challenges they may face. I take a strengths-based approach to problem-solving and believe that all people have within themselves not only the capacity and resources for growth but the ability to act on those resources in furtherance of their life goals.

Therapy with me is relational and dialogical. I value authenticity and work from a place that is honest and open, to cultivate a space in which I and the person I am with both feel free to express ourselves spontaneously in relation to what is being discussed from moment-to-moment. I believe that each person with whom I meet is the expert on their own life and seek to get up-close to and bear witness to each person's unique world. As we journey in our work together, your path will be lit with empathy and compassion for whatever is troubling you.

A third-year Master of Social Work candidate at Saint Leo University , I utilize a well-rounded understanding of psychological and social science to foster personal growth and interpersonal connection. My background spans not only psychology and social work but also the field of meteorology: Dating back to my first year in high school through my early college years, I wanted to be a weather forecaster and was professionally involved in the field. I was the earliest adapter of a neurodiversity perspective in the field, was the first to draw attention to matters of color vision differences for weather communicators, and have been a leader in psychological applications of weather social science. For about a decade, I was heavily involved with nationwide weather learning and education efforts. This included weather camp-related and other work with How The Weatherworks, and I also mentored nearly a dozen motivated, weather-interested middle and high school students. In all, I have mentored some two-dozen students at all levels of education, from grade school to graduate.

My research interests:

  • weather salience
  • the human side of meteorology
  • human-weather-climate-environment interactions and responses
  • the use of color in weather communication
  • processes involved in learning about weather
  • clinical applications of person-centered theory
  • neuroaffirming clinical practice and social work
  • person-centered, student-focused learning
  • stigma and prejudice
I have taught psychology and first-year experience courses at the university level for over 2 years. Though I am currently on hiatus while I complete my MSW degree, I have since 2021 volunteered with Crisis Text Line, including their pilot project collaboration with Kids Help Phone to provide mental health support to SMS texters in Canada.

I am a past elected officer (2012-2013) and President of the West Central Florida Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (2020-2022), was a founding member of the National Weather Association's Diversity Committee (2016, on which I served through 2021); was a student member of the NWA Professional Development (2013-2020); am an award-winning speaker (2015, 2017) and researcher (2017), and was an American Meteorological Society Graduate Fellow (2020-2021).

My professional affiliations include the following.

I am also a collaborator at the Disability and Well-Being in Social Work community project and a mentor of undergraduate and graduate students at The Social Work Neighborhood project.

"People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don't find myself saying, 'Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner.' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds." -Carl Rogers

Education

Training in clinical and non-clinical social work, psychology, meteorology, and multimedia.

  • Master of Social Work
    (with honors)
  • Saint Leo University
    expected August 2025
  • Master of Science, Psychology
    (with honors)
    Thesis: Weather on the brain II: A preliminary quantification of the need to think about weather through the development and initial validation of the Need for Cognition about Weather Scale
  • Saint Leo University
    December 2021
    Supervisor: Lara K. Ault, PhD
  • Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Cum Laude
    Minor: Multimedia Management
    Senior thesis: Diagnostic disclosure increases positivity toward autistic individuals
  • Saint Leo University
    June 2019
    Supervisor: Lara K. Ault, PhD
  • Associate of Arts, General Studies
  • Pasco-Hernando State College
    December 2015
    Supervisor: H. Michael Mogil, CCM, DMS

    • Proficient Technical Skills

  • Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
  • Audio production (Adobe Audition, Audacity)
  • Canon DSLR and Sony mirrorless photograpy
  • Canva image creator
  • Copy-editing and technical writing
  • HTML and CSS coding
  • JASP, Jamovi, and SPSS stat programs
  • Microsoft Office suite
  • Research design
  • Social media management
  • Qualtrics survey platform
  • Video production (Adobe Premiere, Open Shot)
  • Meteorological mesoanalysis
  • Wordpress content management system

    • Working Knowledge

  • Javascript web coding
  • PHP web coding
  • Python for statistical analysis
  • R for statistical analysis

Publications

*indicates high school student mentee | **indicates college-level student mentee
my authorship underlined

Books

  • Bolton, M. J. (2022). A journey to the intersection of psychology and meteorology: An exploration of weather’s human impacts. Revised edition. Self-published. Link
  • Bolton, M. J. (2021). A journey to the intersection of psychology and meteorology: An exploration of weather’s human impacts. Self-published.

    2025

  1. Bolton, M. J. (in press). What is essential is invisible to the eye: An account of person-centered curiosity. The Person-Centered Journal.

    2. 2024

  2. Hanes, S. H., & Bolton, M. J. Self-care tips for operational forecasters. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 10. Link
  3. Tatman, C., & Bolton, M. J. Disabled student and professional priorities for the social work profession: A preliminary community survey. PsyArxiv, preprint. Link
  4. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Burton, K., Allen, D. R., Stewart, A. E., & Watt, M. C. A brief look at vicarious trauma in meteorologists and emergency management professionals: Preliminary evidence, associated coping behaviors, emotion regulation strategies, pathological altruism, and healthy selfishness. PsyArxiv, preprint. Link

    5. 2023

  5. Bolton, M. J. De-centering neuronormativity in humanistic psychotherapy: Towards a neurodiversity-informed, person-centered approach. The Person-Centered Journal, 26(2021-2023), 13-48. Link
  6. Bolton, M. J. Three ideas in person-centered, neurodivergent-affirming therapy. Renaissance, newsletter of the Association for the Development of the Person-Centered Approach, May 2023 issue. Preprint: Link
  7. Bolton, M. J. Educating the (weather) educator: Weather salience and mindfulness as two useful psychological concepts for use in SKYWARNTM training sessions. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 11(8). Link
  8. Bolton, M. J. Weather on the brain III: Archival analysis from Weather on the brain II: Quantifying the Need to Think About Weather Through the Development and Initial Validation of the Need for Cognition about Weather Scale (Bolton, 2021). PsyArxiv, preprint. Link
  9. Bolton, M. J., Allen, D. R., & Ault, L. K. Climate change cognition: Initial validation of a new measure of cognitive and affective negativity and its relationship with individual differences. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  10. Bolton, M. J. On the further de-centering of therapeutic neuro-normativity: Psychological contact to meet the needs of persons on the autism spectrum. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  11. Bolton, M. J. De-centering neuro-normativity is an imperative in humanistic psychotherapy: Towards a neurodiversity-informed, person-centered approach. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  12. Bolton, M. J. Three ideas in person-centered, neurodivergent-affirming therapy. Preprint, OSF Preprints. Link
  13. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Stewart, A. E., Watt, M. C., Hanes, S. H., & Allen, D. R. File drawer report: A preliminary test of video-mediated severe weather exposure and note on the potential role of mindfulness in decreasing storm-associated negative affect. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  14. Stewart, A. E. & Bolton, M. J. Digital weather information in an embodied world. Informatics, 10(1), 13. Link

    15. 2022

  15. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Stewart, A. E., Watt, M. C., Hanes, S. H., & Allen, D. R. File drawer report: A preliminary test of video-mediated severe weather exposure and note on the potential role of mindfulness in decreasing storm-associated negative affect. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  16. Ault, L. K., Bolton, M. J., & Burton, K. Initial development and validation of the Need for Cognition about Behavior in Relationships (NCBR) Scale: Report for Academic Affairs Grant Committee.
  17. Bolton, M. J., & Ault, L. K. A preliminary report on the measurement of a “global” weather curiosity: The Brief Epistemic Weather Curiosity Questionnaire (EWCQ-B) and implications for the measurement of weather curiosity. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  18. Ault, L. K., Vera, J., & Bolton, M. J. Emotional intelligence predicts accuracy of perceived emotional intent in email communication. Preprint, SocArxiv. Link
  19. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Burton, K., & Allen, D. R.* Developing and validating an individual difference questionnaire for the measurement of epistemic weather curiosity. Journal of Scientific Psychology, July, 1–18. Link
  20. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Burton, K., & Lazzaro, A. L.** Impostor syndrome and its association with adolescent experiences of parenting styles in general and two prototypically-high IS populations. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  21. Bolton, M. J., Haynie, H. V.,** Ault, L. K., Hanes, S. H., & Watt, M. C. Weather salience: A preliminary investigation into relationships with the big five personality traits, exposure to severe weather events, weather anxiety, and storm safety behaviors. Preprint, PsyArviv. Link
  22. Lazzaro, A. L.,** Bolton, M. J., & Kieffer, K. A brief report on amusement in college students: The positive effects of affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles on romantic relationship satisfaction and psychological wellbeing. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  23. Bolton, M. J., & Lazzaro, A. L.** Weather on the brain I: A theoretical view on needs to think about weather. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link

    24. 2021

  24. Bolton, M. J. On the turning away, part II: Combatting compassion fatigue in meteorology. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 21(11-12). Link
  25. Bolton, M. J. Weather on the brain II: A preliminary quantification of the need to think about weather through the development and initial validation of the Need for Cognition about Weather Scale. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link | master's thesis
  26. Bolton, M. J. On the turning away, part I: Recognizing compassion fatigue in meteorology. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 21(10). Link
  27. Bolton, M. J., & Lazzaro, A. L.** “Lay beliefs about phobias” 25 years later: Conceptually replicating and extending Furnham (1995), on the treatment of phobias, in 2020. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  28. Bolton, M. J., Lazzaro, A. L.,** Ratliff, E.,** Ault, L. K., & Burton, K. “Lay beliefs about phobias” 25 years later: A 2020 conceptual replication and extension of Furnham (1995), on the development of phobias. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  29. Bolton, M. J., & Lazzaro, A. L.** Weather on the brain I: Some initial theorizing on the need to think about weather. Preprint, Psyarxiv. Link
  30. Stewart, A. E., & Bolton, M. J. Analogue weather in a digital world: On the value of integrating both the physical and the technological in day-to-day experiences of weather. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  31. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Burton, K., Allen, D. R.,* & Mogil, H. M. Measuring epistemic weather curiosity: Initial validation of a self-report, individual difference questionnaire. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  32. Huyck, K., Bolton, M. J., & Hanes, S. H. Applying hiring interview adjustments to benefit autistic and non-autistic job candidates in meteorology. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 21(4). Link
  33. Allen, D. R.,* Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., & Burton, K. So, you want to quantify weather curiosity? There’s a questionnaire for that! National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 21(3).
  34. Bolton, M. J., Mogil, H. M., & Hanes, S. H. Building bridges: On effective weather communication to, and with, vulnerable populations. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link

    35. 2020

  35. Bolton, M. J., Mogil, H. M., & Stewart, A. E. An interdisciplinary perspective on meteorological learning for humanistic psychotherapists facing Earth’s changing climate and everyday weather. The Person-Centered Journal, 25(1–2), 152–171. Link
  36. Bolton, M. J. Hello, neighbor: A process of person-centered mentorship inspired by Carl and Fred Rogers. The Person-Centered Journal, 25(1–2), 32–58. Link
  37. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., & Meigs, S. D. “They think I’m amazing but won’t talk with me.” Neurotypical people are more cognitively than behaviorally positive towards their autistic friends. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  38. Bolton, M. J. Hello neighbor: Carl and Fred Rogers and a process of person-centered mentorship. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  39. Zhu, Y., & Bolton, M. J. West Central Florida AMS visits NOAA hurricane hunters. American Meteorological Society Local Chapter Affairs Newsletter, 10(1), 11. Link
  40. Bolton, M. J., Stewart, A. E, & Mogil, H. M. Using emotion-focused theories to understand how meteorologists cope with stress and traumatization in high-impact weather events. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 20(8).
  41. Allen, D. R.,* Bolton, M. J., Mogil, H. M., Ault, L. K., Toole, J., & Stewart, A. E. The “Jim Cantore Effect?” A preliminary test of individual difference-induced media effects upon hurricane evacuation decisions. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  42. Bolton, M. J., Stewart, A. E, & Mogil. H. M. An integrationist, meteorologist-oriented perspective on trauma and mental health coping. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  43. Bolton, M. J., & Ault, L. K. Weathering the storms: Workplace wellbeing, mental health, and the U.S. meteorologist. International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities, 12(1), 1-13. Link
  44. Hanes, S. H., & Bolton, M. J. Initial development of an autism-friendly SKYWARN® storm spotter program. U.S. National Weather Service NWS Insider newsletter, 1(2).
    (INVITED)
  45. Bolton, M. J., & Hanes, S. H. Improving prejudicial and stigmatized views towards autistic people in the weather enterprise. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 20(4).
  46. Bolton, M. J., Blumberg, W. G., Ault, L. K, Mogil, H. M., & Hanes, S. H. Initial evidence for increased weather salience in autism spectrum conditions. Weather, Climate, and Society, 12(2), 293–307. Link
  47. Bolton, M. J., Mogil, H. M., & Ault, L. K. An exploratory, preliminary report on United States weather education trends and general population links between weather salience and systemizing. Journal of Operational Meteorology, 8(4), 54–63. Link
  48. Bolton, M. J., & Mogil, H. M. The spirit of person-centered mentorship, in meteorology and life. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(1), 12-13. (INVITED)
  49. Hanes, S. H., & Bolton, M. J. Some notes on the development of an autism-accessible SKYWARN® storm spotter program. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 20(1). Link

    50. 2019

  50. Bolton, M. J., & Ault, L. K. A short discussion on meteorologists’ workplace wellbeing. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 19(12).
  51. Allen, D. R.,* Serré, A.,* & Bolton, M. J. A weather camp thank-you to NWA. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 19(10).
  52. Bolton, M. J., & Ault, L. K. Weathering the storms of life and nature: Workplace wellbeing and mental health in meteorologists of the United States. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  53. Bolton, M. J. A plain-language primer on the theory of mind and empathizing-systemizing accounts of autism spectrum conditions. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  54. Bolton, M. J., & DePodwin, R. A. “So what if I’m not OK?” A discussion on meteorologists’ emotional wellbeing and healthy coping mechanisms for weather professionals in the face of mental health challenges. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link
  55. Mogil, H. M., & Bolton, M. J. Weather camps – where REAL mentoring happens! National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 19(4). Link
    (INVITED)
  56. Mogil, H. M., & Bolton, M. J. Meteorologists, mentors, and mentees – oh my! Learning opportunities are everywhere. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 19(2). Link
    (INVITED)
  57. Bolton, M. J., & Mogil, H. M. Helping others win, too: Mentorship in the meteorological community. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 19(1). Link (INVITED)
  58. Bolton, M. J., & Ault, L. K. Brief report: Exploring some aspects of social activism in the online autistic community. Preprint, PsyArxiv. Link

    59. 2018

  59. Bolton, M. J., Mogil, H. M., Harvey, G. T.,* & Ault, L. K. Rainfall estimation skill and links between weather salience and detail orientation. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 99(11), 2226–2227. Link
    (INVITED)
  60. Bolton, M. J. Social attitudes and empathy in the weather enterprise. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 18(7). Link
    (INVITED)
  61. Bolton, M. J., Ault, L. K., Greenberg, D. M., & Baron-Cohen, S. Exploring the human side of meteorology: A brief report on the psychology of meteorologists. Journal of Operational Meteorology, 6(3), 23–32. Link
  62. Bolton, M. J. With the silence of a thousand cries: Extremes of autistic advocacy. Disability & Society, 33(6), 980–984. Link
  63. Bolton, M. J., & Ault, L. K. Diagnosis disclosure increases positivity toward autistic individuals. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research: Special Issue on Open Science, 23(3), 110–118. Link (Undergraduate thesis)

    64. 2012-2017

  64. Bolton, M. J., Blumberg, W. G., & Mogil, H. M. (2017). An analysis of the characteristics of autism spectrum conditions for application to weather communication methods in the weather enterprise. Preprint, OSF Preprints. Link
  65. Bolton, M. J. (2017). Social impairments in autism spectrum condition: A brief overview for meteorologists. National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 17(4), 7. (INVITED)
  66. Bolton, M. J. (2016). Diversity University: April is Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month! National Weather Association Monthly Newsletter, 16(4), 7.
    (INVITED)
  67. Roache, D., Collins, J. M., Mazza, C., & Bolton, M. (2012). Rainfall and severe weather influences in Pinellas County, Florida. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (Chapter Channel section), 93(5), 603–605.
    (Published as a high school senior)

Writing, Learning, and Community Facilitation

  • Personal Writing. I regularly publish a blog, Person-Centered Autistic, where I discuss what it's like to be multiply-neurodivergent--autistic and ADHD--in a neurotypical world; the nature of person-centeredness as I experience it; matters of social work and psychology; and other topics which are important to me.
  • Professional Writing. As part of my anti-oppressive scholarship I publish various position papers, editorials, and other writings. I am an advocate in the professional meteorology community, on the accessibility of weather products for color-blind individuals; autism stigma reduction; and other diversity topics.
  • Learning. I teach psychology and basic meteorology for middle and high school students on OutSchool. Recent and upcoming classes have centered around the basics of clouds; weather radar analysis; severe weather fundamentals; personality psychology; well-being and mindfulness; and the psychology of weather and climate.
  • Relational Activism. I believe in the power of relationships and community to foster change. I am active as a member of the Center for Studies of the Person in encounter groups, and I partake in other endeavors, such as crisis intervention, where meeting persons where they are at can serve to bring about change in their lives. I also strive for cultural sensitivity and to create a safe-but-challenging space in my classes.

Interested in supporting me?

If you appreciate the work I do, you can support me on a one-time or monthly basis with a donation below! Proceeds will benefit my research (allowing me to pay participants in an ethical manner!), writing (I'll be able to spend more energy developing and sharing my thoughts!), and tuition (every little bit helps!).