• Replies 29 replies
  • Subscribers 13 subscribers
  • Views 7021 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Neurodivergent therapy?

NAS73488

I've had therapy and counselling a few times in my life for social anxiety, but it's ineffective because they're trained to councel neurotypicals. I'm autistic with ADHD.

Is there no autistic therapy on the NHS? (With a therapist who is autistic and trained to councel autistics). I could only find one such service on the website and it's private only.

If they exist, how do I access them, please? I feel like only a neurodivergent therapist could help.

Parents

  • I don't think it exists unless you're able to pay privately. Autistic people are being failed and discriminated against by the NHS in my view. If non autistic people can access therapy on the NHS, which helps them, then we should be able to do the same.

    I've been through the standard CBT therapy in the past and like you say it's ineffective. It works on the premise that the thinking is faulty and the fears are irrational. However the autistic way of thinking is not faulty but different. The fears are not irrational if they are based upon something that has happened before and is very likely to happen again in the feared situation.

    When I received my (NHS funded) autism diagnosis they recommended that I should have specialist autism centred therapy for my anxiety. However my efforts to access such therapy have failed and I am just told that it is not available in my area. My GP tried applying for funding to access it but the applications were rejected by the local CCG Weary

  • in reply to Autonomistic
    Autonomistic said:
    I've been through the standard CBT therapy in the past and like you say it's ineffective. It works on the premise that the thinking is faulty and the fears are irrational. However the autistic way of thinking is not faulty but different. The fears are not irrational if they are based upon something that has happened before and is very likely to happen again in the feared situation.

    Exactly. I completely agree with you. The foundation of CBT is that your thought patterns need to change because they are irrational, the onus is on you entirely instead of your environment and other external factors. CBT (traditional) is not suited to autistic thinking and does not take into account that the brain tries to protect itself from feared situations. From example our sensory experiences are different and therefore we may avoid certain situations to keep us safe and well regulated.

    Another thought, usually our social anxiety is based on a lack of connection, misunderstandings, isolation, overstimulating environments, unpredictable humans/expectations or sometimes previous bullying. This means our anxiety is well founded and based on our reality, which another autistic therapist would understand much better than a non autistic therapist. Given that the majority of the time we autistics are a minority in a social situation and communicate differently to NTs why wouldn’t we be anxious?

Reply Children
No Data