Do most therapists really not understand AS?

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I'd love an AS woman psychiatrist.

My therapist seems to be doing a lot of homework. This week she talked more about AS than I did, and pointed out when I said things that sounded like I validated the possibility that I am AS. The actual topic wasn't AS for most of the appointment, but we sort of veered into it a few times.

I'm not sure how much she understands, but she seems to have a better idea than I expected she would.

In terms of finding good female doctors I moved to a new city 2 years ago and spent for ever searching for a good female doctor. Then someone suggested I contact the women's rape crisis centre for advice, and I thought that is nuts and put it off for a number of months, but when I finally did, I discovered they had a whole list of doctors that they could recommend and the one first one I saw has got to have been the best GP I have ever seen and she also knows a whole lot of female specialists, so if that is needed it will be possible too!! ! She knows the best female PT, OT, etc, etc and the referrals I get from her are great. It could be luck but it also seems logical that rape crisis centres would have lists of those things and they do, here at least!! ! She also has a number of patients on the spectrum of all levels and so does understand those issues.

In terms of finding specialists with the condition I think we have to remember that most of us are not people persons and so are not exactly likely to go into people helping fields. I tried, but I can't do that stuff, have too many issues being around people to be with them all day long!! !! !! Thought if I was helping people like me it would be different and I have communicated with many people who have tried similar things and come to the same conclusion I have.

Each state in Australia has major Autism associations that are based on a people's rights to be who they are, but they ALL have huge lists of recommended specailists of every single type you can imagine, I have heard of people even recommending plumbers, builders and the like, who they felt had supported them with their condition - how I do not know, just saying what I heard via word of mouth!! ! I do know of people who have found them to be great places to start to look for someone to help and my GP said that that was where she found the OT that she referred me to.

I think the issue is most "profressionals" may it be a physical doctor or a mental doctor, they only want to treat the symptom not the cause. The issue is they are only looking at the symptoms.
They aren't trying to figure anything out. And I know that actually doesn't sound like it relates. It probably doesn't and I may be speaking out of my ass. But doctors only focus on the symptoms and don't go into the bigger picture.

That is the main goal of capitalism. To treat the symptoms and not the cause so that you have to keep coming in for medicine to get rid of symptoms. The longer they keep it up the more money they get.

Practices and mindsets and morals like these are what drove me to a more left point of view. I want my cold gone, I want something removed, I want some help with my problems. I don't want medicine which stops my runny nose because it stops my cells from producing the protein! I want the virus to be GONE!

The best field to see that in is Psychiatry. Give people these pills and they are so drugged out that they cannot complain about anything, they cannot talk about voices in their head, because they cannot talk at all and then they claim that is a cure. It is not a cure if the voices are still there for the person!! !! !! !! !! It is the persons experience that counts. It is amazing to look at the history of some of some of the medications they use. One of the newer antidepressents was initally developed in Europe as bladder control agent and is still on the market there as that, for that reason the company is not trying to get licences to market it as a antidepressent in those countries as no one would buy it. Zoloft a well known antidpressant was supposedly initally an antipsychotic, but when after 10 years of research they could not get permission to market it as that, they changed tacks and it became an antidepressant!! Then they try and claim that these drugs are actually curing a specific condition in our brain chemisty!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

I agree that for many doctors a quick fix is the answer, it is also a part of who they are, they are in the business of helping people and want to be able to help them quickly and they do that by saying take this drug and prescribing medications is what makes them doctors, but if a medication is not there then they tend to say the whole thing is in our heads or they give us something to control the symptoms. The other issue is how much of society expects this. Colds, runny noses, coughs, etc are in the large majority of cases viral infections and we do not have medications that actually treat the viral infection and only time can do that. BUT for decades we were given a presciption of antibiotics no matter how mild the symptoms and it is amazing how many people still go to doctors expecting that and when they do not get it they go doctor shopping until they do. The government in Australia has been running major advertising campagins to say that common colds need common sense, and not antibiotics as while the doctors were changing their prescribing habits, the pressure patients were putting on them for antibiotics was huge and while the campaigns have had some modest success it is amazing at how many people still think that unless they leave the doctor with a prescription in hand then they have not been treated. The same could be said for depression. While there may be a role for antidepressents for some people, people with mild depression are going to be much better off dealing with the issues that have caused them to become depressed and to deal with the issues in some form of therapy, but instead we just give them a presciption and when it doesn't work we wonder why?? The biggest joke I find in Australia is the issue of farmers being depressed, because their was a severe drought, they had no income and could not cope financially. We gave them all prescriptions for antidpressents!! ! Common sense would say that what they needed was financial counselling and water to use on their properties. How is prozac going to cure a drought???! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !

I personally look for treatment providers who are going to be looking for the underlying problems and who are going to treat the whole of me. I do not need a therapist who claims that every single problem can be cured by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Sure there is a role for CBT but common sense that my problems are bigger than my thoughts alone and unless you are willing to treat all of me then you really are not going to be of much help to me. But it is amazing how difficult it can be to find people who are open to considering the whole person. I'm just grateful that I now have that in a GP, Psychiatrist and Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, etc, and they all know and understand autism and are willing to see my problems from that and many other perspectives. I can say it has taken me until 6 months ago to finally have these professionals in place, and I am almost 37. It should not be that hard to find decent help.