Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & Asperger Syndrome experi

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I've got an appointment for CBT later today and I've recently found out from an Aspie friend that CBT is not really helpful to people on the spectrum. I was wondering if anyone here has an ASD and has tried CBT? If so, was it helpful or not, and why?

Thanks!

Personally speaking I didn't benefit from it in helping me live with chronic pain. I found diary keeping a chore and it dredged up painful memories from many years before.

I suppose it may work for some people but I found talking with a psychologist and having reflexology more beneficial.

CosmicRuss, that is very helpful, thanks.

I just got a call from the psychiatric services receptionist, which leads to confusion. I called her recently to ask about when I'd be able to see someone who specialises in ASDs, and she said I was on a waiting list and would call me back to let me know how long it was. She called me back just now and said I had an appointment at 1:30pm today, which I already knew about, and it's for CBT. Why have they given me an appointment for CBT when I want an ASD specialist/diagnosis? Confusing.

Anyway, I'd still love to hear from anyone else who's got experience with it.

I've been in cognitive behavioral therapy for about five years now. I like being able to talk to a psychologist about how to respond in social situations. She explains it from a scientific point of view rather than the "it's common sense" view I was told all my life. I think my social skills have vastly improved since I started CBT. I actually have friends now.

I just got back from the appointment and it was for ASD diagnosis after all, but the woman was a student and had no experience of ASDs and said I looked normal and pleasant. *sigh*

It sounds like your CBT was successful mainly because someone is teaching you how to behave socially more than it being actual therapy! Good though.

I tried CBT several times for my OCD. The fact that it didn't work is what led one therapist to first bring up Asperger's. The main reasons I feel CBT was useless for me are because I feel emotions and fears differently than most people, my anxiety/panic attack from an obsession will NOT go away unless I do the compulsion (I've literally had panic attacks on and off for DAYS until I compulsively confess), I am too logical and tend to see through the strategies they use, and I've had OCD since I was 3 and feel that I just simply went untreated for too long and developed OCD too early to know any other way.

What my last CBT therapist said the day she brought up Asperger's was that I'm a "moving target." She said, "You have so MANY fears! It's hard to pin you down! One week, you'll be worried about one thing, but the next week, it's a different issue!"

Another reason CBT failed for me is because I'm a pure obsessional. CBT and ERP work well for overt compulsions but not as well for mental rituals. And going back to my logical and scientific ways of thinking, I never saw the point in stopping my mental prayers after obsessions, because there always IS a chance, no matter how illogical or miniscule, that somebody will get sick or hurt or whatever shortly after I have an obsession like, "I hope they die." So, why take the chance of something bad happening, not checking or praying or confessing or whatever, and then feel horrible guilt and upset afterwards?

That may be the case, some of us who were diagnosed later in life have had life long experience of appearing 'normal' to others while knowing quite the opposite is true. Good news though that someone is going to assist you.

Sounds like your caught in a health care vortex. Hopefully you will be able to see someone with the qualifications to diagnose ASD. I had CBT for a few months. It was not very helpful. Anything that it could have taught me I had already figured out myself. CBT teaches you to "pass" but it doesn't change who you are or how you feel.

I did have CBT, but it didn't seem to help. It may of helped a little, but it was just temporary, then the bad thoughts just started taking over my mind and I was back to being the same anxious, depressed, self-pitying person.

That is exactly the information I was looking for but didn't know it yet, and you said it beautifully. The rest of your message was also very cool. Thank you.

You're welcome. : )
CBT actually made me feel a little worse because it was so patronizing. It made me realize how little people understand ASD. I just went along with it though because I didn't want to be uncooperative; I did finally get to see a psychiatrist who diagnosed me.

The emphasis on correcting unhelpful thoughts draws attention to those thoughts. I was not able to change my thinking enough for it to work (going from "I will never ..." to "it is highly likely that I will never ..." did not help).

I did not fine it helped me for my depression. (although it was at the time I was prescribed fluoxitine which made things a lot worse) even though the therapist had experience of AS and had worked with AS.

I found it more counterproductive than anything, just not very helpful. The whole premise seems based around changing your thinking in the hopes positive thoughts will become a habit and it will all be rainbows and roses. However when the changing of thinking makes no difference in how you feel what good does it do..........I just end up feeling like a failure because it doesn't work.

My CBT is nothing like what you all are describing. My psychologist helps me learn how to deal with the good and bad social situations. She doesn't hide the fact that I will always have trouble interacting with others and that I will have to work harder than "normal" people just to have a decent life. She encourages me to pursue my special interest and turn it into to a career, but she also will tell me flat out when I will be unable to do something unless I work really hard to improve my social skills now. She doesn't believe in pretending everything will be okay if it won't be.

whats a cbt assessment like i have one soon

Last edited by kazma on 26 Oct 2012, 1:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

My CBT therapist is REALLY good.

He works with people who have ASDs, and is incredibly understanding and gives practical advice. I can't stand abstract/ephemeral advice because it's so intangible and makes no sense to my concrete autistic mind.

He understands this so he has me do practical things that treat the root of the issues.

Couldn't be more helpful than that. He also carries the philosophy that you can't put a label on Autism - it's not good, it's not bad. There are PARTS that are good and PARTS that are bad and you need to emphasize the good and manage the bad.

It's the highlight of my week to go to him. At first I didn't like it, until we got further.