falling through the cracks

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Now that I am out of grad school and have a real job, I have been thinking about some of the very important quality-of-life things I had put aside for the past several years. One of these items I've though a lot about is seeking some kind of counseling, like a therapist or psychologist or some such. I'd really like to talk to someone about strategies for dealing with some things that cause me problems (recognizing people, stuttering, hating to go shopping, etc.). It'd be nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff in general, because my family has always been rather silent about it. The problem is that I don't really know who to contact. From reading things online about people in my area it seems like most ASD-specialized counselors are focused on either diagnostics, early intervention, or low functioning ASD. I don't need any of those services. Also, I have a bit of anxiety about seeing a mental health professional, as I had a really bad experience with one as a kid, and haven't really been to one since.

Anyway, is there anyone out there who is in a similar situation? Have you had a good experience with a therapist? If so, what type of professional do you see?

I have autism and cPTSD and have been in therapy for much of my adult life. It's been a very mixed experience. Some therapists have been by-the-book and I've felt no connection and spent a lot of time repeatedly explaining autism and my various challenges. With other more flexible therapists I've had very helpful connection and communication and gotten a lot of insight. I got mainstreamed in school and was raised to strongly deny being autistic and different or having special needs and an important part of therapy for me has been accepting my autism and strengths and limitations. After eight years of seeing a cognitive-behavioral therapist and not being well-understood or getting meaningful support, earlier this year I chose to switch to a christian counselor recommended by my general practitioner doctor. The new counselor is great and I'm amazed at her understanding and not treating my autism as pathology - it's like a night-and-day contrast with my previous therapist. She also helps me see that my life situation isn't hopeless and unchangeable while at the same time helping me accept being autistic. She works with me both with talk and with drawings as I'm pretty non-verbal on the inside. I've gone to some local autism society support groups in the past and that's one idea for looking for references for therapists, if there's one in your area. There's nothing wrong with CBT per se, but I can feel deeply disconnected with it - sort of like I'm at the bottom of a well looking up and hearing the therapist chatting away with my brain's verbal center far above. I hope you find a therapist who suits your needs.

Even after Aspies got into the DSM, no counsellor I met used a checklist to spot my diagnosis. They are pretty hopeless at sorting out the various presentations and combinations. The only counsellor I've had since discovering AS in '05 turned out to be unusually compatible and interested in some of the same things, and also available long-term. We just had our last visit, because she is retiring.
She was mostly valuable as a good listener, and a good source of advice on what to worry about or accept as normal. Monthly visits were basically just suicide prevention, but because she was willing to be called in a crisis, there was a feeling of ongoing support that helped with slow recovery from traumas old and new. I could seldom follow her advice, and she would have done a lot better if she'd just asked me to describe the dead ends I saw, instead of letting me change the subject. That way, I might have seen the options she claimed were still there if not for my "black & white thinking."