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d057
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14 Jul 2009, 4:21 pm

I'm having a problem getting along with my therapist, and I don't think he is the right person to work with me. He is not a mean person, but he has a pushy and in your face type of a personality. Sometimes when he asks me a question, I get overwhelmed and don't know what to say, then he starts asking even more questions, and I get even more overwhelmed. I know he's trying to get me to "come out of my shell", but its not working. I've been working with this same person for over a year now, and I think its time to find a different person to work with. I don't think that pushing someone with aspergers or autism to get them to "come out of their shell" is the right thing to do. My parents keep trying to tell me to "be honest and open", but it's hard to do when your being pushed to the limit. Should I ask my parents to find a new therapist, or keep working with this person?


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irishwhistle
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14 Jul 2009, 4:49 pm

Sounds like you've answered the question just fine yourself. You aren't getting anywhere, yet he, the professional, hasn't changed his tack. If he hasn't figured out by now that his approach isn't working, yeah, you need a new therapist. Assuming you still need one at all.


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14 Jul 2009, 5:05 pm

If it's not working, it's not working.
They say all this stuff about how you need a consistent therapist, but having a consistent therapist that just isn't right for you isn't going to do any good. It takes time to develop that "therapeutic relationship" but seriously, not all therapists are right for all people. That's particularly true for asperger's... Therapists have very social jobs, most of them just aren't going to be able to understand aspies, and way too many of them let their egos get in the way of an objective opinion of whether or not they can help you.



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14 Jul 2009, 5:18 pm

I agree. If he can't get that he's overwhelming you, he most lightly isn't helping. Why are you seeing the therapist anyways? The reason why I ask is because he may not be the right type or personality to work with you, the reason may help pinpoint the right type of person for you to work with or even just figure out who doesn't work well with you.

I was in councilling for about a year with no progress with one councillor and then couldn't attend that one because I had to move (college), I then went to a different one about four years later (for about six sessions) and most of my emotional discord was helped (as in I could understand and deal with it better).



d057
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14 Jul 2009, 7:25 pm

LostAlien wrote:
I agree. If he can't get that he's overwhelming you, he most lightly isn't helping. Why are you seeing the therapist anyways? The reason why I ask is because he may not be the right type or personality to work with you, the reason may help pinpoint the right type of person for you to work with or even just figure out who doesn't work well with you.

I was in councilling for about a year with no progress with one councillor and then couldn't attend that one because I had to move (college), I then went to a different one about four years later (for about six sessions) and most of my emotional discord was helped (as in I could understand and deal with it better).


I see him to help me improve my confidence with making friends in school.


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LostAlien
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16 Jul 2009, 8:26 am

Have you told him that his current way isn't working for you? If you have and he's still on the same tack, go to another one instead (if you can). Overwhelming you won't help you make friends, someone who will go through social skills (explaining them) would probably help tho.



d057
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18 Jul 2009, 10:10 pm

LostAlien wrote:
Have you told him that his current way isn't working for you? If you have and he's still on the same tack, go to another one instead (if you can). Overwhelming you won't help you make friends, someone who will go through social skills (explaining them) would probably help tho.


I've told him that twice since I started working with him, and then he just keeps on overwhelming me by pushing to the limit even more. I think its time to find a different person to work with, since i've been working with him for over a year now and it hasn't helped. Usually long before then, you start to notice changes in the client you are working with. My parents and I are going to talk to him when I meet with him next week.


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d057
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28 Jul 2009, 6:39 pm

d057 wrote:
LostAlien wrote:
Have you told him that his current way isn't working for you? If you have and he's still on the same tack, go to another one instead (if you can). Overwhelming you won't help you make friends, someone who will go through social skills (explaining them) would probably help tho.


I've told him that twice since I started working with him, and then he just keeps on overwhelming me by pushing to the limit even more. I think its time to find a different person to work with, since i've been working with him for over a year now and it hasn't helped. Usually long before then, you start to notice changes in the client you are working with. My parents and I are going to talk to him when I meet with him next week.


I had my last session with him the other day, they said it's going to take a while to find a new therapist, but i'm hoping that whoever this person is that he or she will be better. When he overwhelmed me, he would threaten me by saying things like "we're going to meet more than once a week if this keeps up". Therapy is not supposed to be something you completely dread, its supposed to be something you enjoy and that helps you with whatever your problems are.


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29 Jul 2009, 4:25 am

That's good you did not tolerate the sub-standard therapy. Perhaps if enough clients did this, he might get the point that his approach needs improving. Did you provide any feedback? I provided this to the last 2 therapists I left. However, the previous ones did not seem amenable so I did not feel comfortable doing it.



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29 Jul 2009, 5:46 am

d057 wrote:
When he overwhelmed me, he would threaten me by saying things like "we're going to meet more than once a week if this keeps up".


Wait, you said in your first post that he wasn't mean!
That's screwy..

If possible, it's a good idea to "shop around" for therapists. Meet a few, and go with someone you can connect with.
They're working for you, and you're paying them a lot of money for it. Just imagine any other profession acting the way therapists do, expecting to do a bad job, continue to get paid, and bully you into continuing to hire them over and over again.

If your exterminator spread sugar all over the floor and expected you to pay him $100 every time he did this, what would you do?



d057
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01 Aug 2009, 12:40 pm

Maggiedoll wrote:
d057 wrote:
When he overwhelmed me, he would threaten me by saying things like "we're going to meet more than once a week if this keeps up".


Wait, you said in your first post that he wasn't mean!
That's screwy..

If possible, it's a good idea to "shop around" for therapists. Meet a few, and go with someone you can connect with.
They're working for you, and you're paying them a lot of money for it. Just imagine any other profession acting the way therapists do, expecting to do a bad job, continue to get paid, and bully you into continuing to hire them over and over again.

If your exterminator spread sugar all over the floor and expected you to pay him $100 every time he did this, what would you do?


He wasn't mean, he was just a very pushy person. I knew he wanted me to do better with learning social skills in school, but he just had a very "in your face" method of doing it. The thing about thereapy is, if you push someone to the limit, the more the client is going to resist to it.


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