Talking Therapies for GAD and depression

Hi Senior Moment,

In the UK there are a couple of professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy; one is called the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) and another is the UKCP (UK Council of Psychotherapists) and the majority of counsellors and therapists who work within the NHS are registered with one or both of these organisations - many NHS therapy roles require it. These organisations both have registers of reputable therapists in the UK who are either employed, work in private practice, or who do both. Therefore one option for you (to avoid the red tape) may be to consider paying for private therapy.

I would always critically recommend that anyone using a therapist in private practice (in the UK) makes sure that their therapist is registered, preferable accredited too, with one of these professional bodies. Therefore I am wondering if perhaps your country of residence may have a similar professional body who could recommend a local private practice counsellor to you. I would therefore suggest that you contact the BACP and the UKCP (via email perhaps) and ask them directly if they know of any equivalent professional organisations in the country where you live that you could contact.

There may also be the possibility that the BACP or UKCP has counsellors on their register who live in your country of residence; as I do not know if their registered therapists have to be strictly based in the UK in order to be registered with them. Again, this may be a good way of finding a reputable private therapist in your country of residence who is registered in the UK; so I would contact the BACP or UKCP and ask them about this too.

I think you are right to have some doubts about the Human Givens approach. The reason I tentatively support your doubts is because I know that the Human Givens approach is a relatively new approach (only been around these last ten or fifteen years) and it may therefore not have built up a sufficient evidence base to back it claims. I know that there was a time, only five years ago, when Human Givens practitioners were not able to become BACP accredited on the merits of this approach alone simply because this approach had no training courses (or evidences) which were sufficiently adequate or comprehensive enough to meet the BACPs required criteria for accreditation. I don’t know if this is still the case now.

There are many different therapy approaches and all have merits and drawbacks. I think finding a therapy that works is a highly individual process because different approaches suit different people, therefore many people may have to try out several different therapists and different approaches before finding one which suits them best. I do think, however, that it is critically important that you find a therapist (regardless of their approach) who fully understands and has experience of working with individuals on the Autistic spectrum.

ASD is simply a 'different way of being' and therefore does not require therapy in its own right. However comorbid issues, such as depression and GAD, can benefit from accessing therapy. In this respect, because individuals on the spectrum may have unique ways of experiencing, perceiving and functioning in this life, you really need a therapist who is able to consider their ASD clients issues or difficulties from a ‘NeuroDiverse’ and not a ‘Neurotypical’ perspective.

Some private UK therapists also offer sessions via Skype. I don’t know how effective this way of accessing private counselling may be (and please still ensure they are registered and sufficiently qualified,) but accessing UK based therapy in this way may also be an option for you? Again the BACP or UKCP will be able to help you find a UK therapist who uses Skype.

I am very sorry that I can’t advise you about online computerised (unmanned)  'self-help' therapies because I am not personally overwhelmingly keen on them. My very personal belief is that I fear that these online 'therapies' may be highly politically driven and may therefore be more motivated by cost than about enabling positive outcomes for real human beings. However, if others have found them helpful, which I am sure (I like to hope) some do, I hope perhaps they may be able to offer you more advice about this route and method than I can.

Best of luck.

Interesting and useful advice. I particularly liked the following:

QUOTE: ASD is simply a 'different way of being' and therefore does not require therapy in its own right. However comorbid issues, such as depression and GAD, can benefit from accessing therapy. In this respect, because individuals on the spectrum may have unique ways of experiencing, perceiving and functioning in this life, you really need a therapist who is able to consider their ASD clients issues or difficulties from a ‘NeuroDiverse’ and not a ‘Neurotypical’ perspective. UNQUOTE

There's a lot there that matches my own thoughts. Therapy in my case, would only be to deal with those comorbid issues. That suggests to me that I'm going to have to do this therapy mostly on my own, although hopefully with some interaction from neurodiverse and neurotypical others. I guess you are wondering why. Well, a life on edge for so long has not exactly put me in a sound financial position. Sure, I splashed out a bit to get the diagnosis - although at times i wonder if it might just have been better to just self-identify. NHS is out of bounds to me anyway, there is no local equivalent of the NHS and I think the local version of therapy is likely to be a bit too tainted by local political considerations to be of any great use to me. And visiting therapists from abroad are undoubtedly expensive. With all that in mind, I think it might be best to check out some of the therapy texts, and adopt what I personally find useful in their content. If some of their content is a bit unverified and a tad overpoliticised, well I think I can figure it out for myself whether they have any real personal significance. One major thought that I have right now is that at my age, it might actually be better to enact some revolutionary change in my philosophical/spiritual outlook. I'm inclined also to think I need a complete change in the way I conduct my life, if only so I can begin to do something a bit more creative with my life that could actually make it more fun and perhaps even be a bit more productive. It would make sense to do that after retiring because I can no longer stand the thought of trundling around the same old hamster wheel of conventional work for the rest of my allotted span. I will still need of course to earn something, and do something useful, but eventually some  pension will also kick in. I tend to think of myself as having fallen into the majority world, and having fallen out with the affluent first world lifestyle.

Hi Senior Moment,

I am absolutely all for personal and spiritual growth and the elusive yet eternal quest for meaning and happiness; achieved through whatever means suits us best as individuals (within reason.)

However, I really (quite strongly) don’t believe that reading books on the theories behind therapy constitutes (nor replaces) accessing actual therapy itself.

I think that Intellectual knowledge (in this way you described) can rarely (if ever) substitute for learnt experience; and by this I mean that I believe you have to experience the process of counselling in (a professional) relationship with your therapist in order for it to be of value, rather than consider its theoretical principles out of context and solely from an intellectual standpoint? 

Perhaps some 'over the counter' generic self help books may be more helpful or perhaps some generally 'insightful' books may be of more use than reading up on the specific theories of therapy? Perhaps some kind others on here may have some really good titles they could recommend?

I will have a really good think too about any books (in general) I could recommend to someone wanting to make positive change and perhaps gain insight into themselves in their lives. Off the very top of my head I think that every 'spiritual quester' should read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' at least once in their lifetime.

However, very best of luck to you whatever you chose to do.

I wish you the best of luck and hope your creative and spiritual quest turns out to be a great adventure.

Thanks for all your thoughts. Much appreciated. :-) It's one of those days when thoughts are evolving on the fly.

"Senior Moment' I have a notion that the way to go is actually start in on a very different way of living a more creative existence, and use that as a therapeutic process in its own right.

I really do absolutely agree! We do tend to have to be the change we wish to see in ourselves or in our lives in order for that (any) change to fully manifest/take place? And this in itself can often require an initial 'blind leap of faith?'

And I agree also that the process itself is indeed therapeutic in its own right, just as you have stated.

Read that years ago, and at the time it was most interesting. I've tried reading it again over the years and completely lost patience with it. In fact, I am myself quite skeptical about stuff like non-duallism. I have a notion that the way to go is actually start in on a very different way of living a more creative existence, and use that as a therapeutic process in its own right. I'm almost inclined to avoid actually searching for spiritual and therapeutic guidance and just throw myself in at the deep end of something different. Sink or swim!

Read that years ago, and at the time it was most interesting. I've tried reading it again over the years and completely lost patience with it. In fact, I am myself quite skeptical about stuff like non-duallism. I have a notion that the way to go is actually start in on a very different way of living a more creative existence, and use that as a therapeutic process in its own right. I'm almost inclined to avoid actually searching for spiritual and therapeutic guidance and just throw myself in at the deep end of something different. Sink or swim!

I wish you the best of luck and hope your creative and spiritual quest turns out to be a great adventure.

Thanks for all your thoughts. Much appreciated. :-) It's one of those days when thoughts are evolving on the fly.

"Senior Moment' I have a notion that the way to go is actually start in on a very different way of living a more creative existence, and use that as a therapeutic process in its own right.

I really do absolutely agree! We do tend to have to be the change we wish to see in ourselves or in our lives in order for that (any) change to fully manifest/take place? And this in itself can often require an initial 'blind leap of faith?'

And I agree also that the process itself is indeed therapeutic in its own right, just as you have stated.