Refusal to diagnose?

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I'm a bit frustrated right now, i want to get tested for AS but my therapist isnt keen on the idea. First she tried to dissuade me saying its expensive (considering shes getting 200 bucks a session, i find this a bit disingenuous), so when i say i can afford it the she says she doesnt want to pathologize me. Im just so frustrated because whatever you call my situation it causes significant quality of life issues, and without a diagnosis its harder to get the proper treatment and services.

Problem is shes the most open minded therapist ive seen in my area, so i dont think i have many other options. What the heck does a gal have to do to be taken seriously???

Bleh, that is just plain sucky. Ultimately it is your choice and she should really respect that.

For some people, having a label is something they feel imprisoned by — but for others it's liberating. I am in the latter camp, though I'm not officially diagnosed.

I think you need to communicate to her how just important it is for you, and how much (and in what areas) you feel it will help you. If she doesn't take your wishes seriously then she is, honestly, not that great a therapist.

Is your therapist providing you of any of these services that you need? Can she, even without a diagnosis? I agree that it is your choice whether or not to pursue a diagnosis, but it might not be essential at this time.

My guess - and it's only a guess - is she's afraid you are AS and knows she has no experience with it.

Is there a chance you can change therapists? If she's not listening to you - and it's part of her job to listen to your concerns - then why are you paying her so much money to annoy you?

You don't need your therapist's approval to get tested. You can organise it yourself. There are usually waiting lists but as a private patient you just need to find an institute or appropriately qualified professional. I don't know about your country but here I would try looking up autism centres and autism specialists over the internet.

(I just started with a new therapist last week (after a 33-year break from therapy). When I told her of the various (unofficial) AS diagnoses people have given me she assumed I was a savant and asked me if I had a special talent. As it happens I can read 20 languages so I told her about that, even though I certainly don't think of it as a savant-like talent at all. As the conversation progressed she asked me if I liked black animals. I asked her why and she said she had seen a documentary about an autistic child who liked black animals. Anyway, it was nice that she was open about her ignorance and didn't try to tell me I was just being silly.)

It's your life. If you want to seek a diagnosis, and it's important to you, then perhaps you should pursue it. I don't know why she would not want you to find out if you have Asperger's or not. Finding out one way of the other might help with your therapy. I don't know, this is just my opinion.

I'm originally from your area and while I think it's possible she just doesn't know very much about it, she also might be trying to help you out. Do you think it's possible that she's hesitant to help you with an official diagnosis because it would do more harm than good?
From a personal perspective I decided to not even attempt diagnosis at this point in my life, because it would hold me back from certain things and at my level of functioning I wouldn't be able to get any assistance anyway.
I just think it's possible that she knows you won't get adequate assistance to make the drawbacks of diagnosis worth it.

Have you ever considered phone counseling? I work with a phone counselor and he's the best therapist I've ever known.

Note: I apologize for making duplicate posts (which I have already deleted). I did not realize that my first post had gone through ok.