Therapists with Asperger's

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Thank you so much again! Your not overdoing it at all. After all this (aspies as theraphist) is not exactly something there is easy to find information about so I appreciate everything your sharing! I do not have so much to share myself yet but I really appreciate it.

Wow Veggiegirl you are in your final year of psych, doing a doctrate - what was your thesis on? Did you do masters? if so what was that thesis on?

Thanks Psychegots (spelt right?) re not overdoing it. I am loving this topic and I would love to stay in contact with other psych students and therapists to troubleshoot any issues and provide support to each other if you guys want to do that too.

I did my honours thesis on ASD traits and ToM didnt really get any significant results as I wasn't able to use actual people on the spectrum unfortunately only uni students.

Psyching myself up for another year of uni - 2 weeks to go - bring it on

Thanks Sharkgirl!

I actually have another year and a half left of classes (my program is five years, including a year of internship). But, I will get my master's at the end of this year. I don't have to do a master's thesis, just a dissertation. My dissertation is on anorexia. I haven't started any data collection yet.

I would love to stay in touch with you guys. I am very excited about "meeting" (online) other people with Asperger's who are either therapists or therapists-in-training.

Thats great Veggiegirl,

Hey everyone answer this: In what way has your journey towards becomming a psychotherapist helped you to conquer and or accept your diagnosis of autism?

I would also love to keep in contact with you guys Is your thesis anywhere online sharky? Would love to read it. I would like to do mine on ASD as well, but it's a lot of years until I'm there so I have plenty of time to think about it.

To answer your question my course in abnormal psychology made me diagnose myself (and then got an official diagnosis) so I would not be here on WP or know any where near what I know now if it was not for that...!

Hey fellow therapists!

I just found out the other day that a client that I saw one time requested to see another therapist. I knew during the session that I wasn't doing a great job, because I was very tired. However, it made me question whether others have done the same thing. I asked the receptionist, but she said she doesn't make a note of it when it happens to anybody, and it does happen to other clinicians too. But, it made me worried.

Part of the problem is that I was so worried about boundaries that it may have made me seem distant. I am working on remidying that now, at the suggestion of one of my supervisors. (She said that I'm not the type of person who would say something inappropriate, so it's okay not to worry about every single thing I say.) So, I am working on being more natural.

The other problem is the AS, I think. I need to continually check to make sure my facial expressions are mirroring my clients' affects. If I forget, I probably look blank, because I often do in other situations. That is hard. Plus, seeing a lot of clients is tiring, so I get sort of distant by the end of the day. I just started drinking juice before sessions later in the day, for the sugar boost, and it helps.

Does anyone have any tips on how they have overcome losing clients (I think about 50% haven't come back for more than one session )? Does anyone have any ideas about how to look less blank when you have AS?

Thank you guys. I am worried about this. On the bright side, though, the clients who do come back seem to really like me.

Hey fellow therapists!

I just found out the other day that a client that I saw one time requested to see another therapist. I knew during the session that I wasn't doing a great job, because I was very tired. However, it made me question whether others have done the same thing. I asked the receptionist, but she said she doesn't make a note of it when it happens to anybody, and it does happen to other clinicians too. But, it made me worried.

Part of the problem is that I was so worried about boundaries that it may have made me seem distant. I am working on remidying that now, at the suggestion of one of my supervisors. (She said that I'm not the type of person who would say something inappropriate, so it's okay not to worry about every single thing I say.) So, I am working on being more natural.

The other problem is the AS, I think. I need to continually check to make sure my facial expressions are mirroring my clients' affects. If I forget, I probably look blank, because I often do in other situations. That is hard. Plus, seeing a lot of clients is tiring, so I get sort of distant by the end of the day. I just started drinking juice before sessions later in the day, for the sugar boost, and it helps.

Does anyone have any tips on how they have overcome losing clients (I think about 50% haven't come back for more than one session )? Does anyone have any ideas about how to look less blank when you have AS?

Thank you guys. I am worried about this. On the bright side, though, the clients who do come back seem to really like me.

Hey fellow therapists!

I just found out the other day that a client that I saw one time requested to see another therapist. I knew during the session that I wasn't doing a great job, because I was very tired. However, it made me question whether others have done the same thing. I asked the receptionist, but she said she doesn't make a note of it when it happens to anybody, and it does happen to other clinicians too. But, it made me worried.

Part of the problem is that I was so worried about boundaries that it may have made me seem distant. I am working on remidying that now, at the suggestion of one of my supervisors. (She said that I'm not the type of person who would say something inappropriate, so it's okay not to worry about every single thing I say.) So, I am working on being more natural.

The other problem is the AS, I think. I need to continually check to make sure my facial expressions are mirroring my clients' affects. If I forget, I probably look blank, because I often do in other situations. That is hard. Plus, seeing a lot of clients is tiring, so I get sort of distant by the end of the day. I just started drinking juice before sessions later in the day, for the sugar boost, and it helps.

Does anyone have any tips on how they have overcome losing clients (I think about 50% haven't come back for more than one session )? Does anyone have any ideas about how to look less blank when you have AS?

Thank you guys. I am worried about this. On the bright side, though, the clients who do come back seem to really like me.

Sorry about the triple post! A message kept coming up saying it failed to send, but apparently it did post!

Interesting thread, guys. I'm thinking about going back to school for my MSW and was considering taking the clinical route, but am still not sure if that would be a good fit for me. It's encouraging to see other people on the Spectrum in the field, though.

How are you guys doing?

Pretty good! I have a pretty solid group of clients now, which is great.

How are you doing?

In court today the psychiatric evaluation debate concerning the "Norway killer" (Anders Behring Breivik) were the central topic (it will be next week as well).

Professor of psychiatry Ulrik Malt presented his view that ABB might be suffering from Asperger's syndrome, tourettes and narcissistic personality disorder. In the upcoming questions the prosecutor wanted to know more about the functional level of people with Asperger's. Malt responds that they can do really well in concrete professions like a sales job or a university position, but will fail in professions that demand personal involvement.

He goes on to say that, "as a Psychiatrist or psychologist for example, a person with Asperger's will not function at all". The prosecutor answers "That is calming to hear", before she goes on to ask another question.

This is all broad casted live on national television.

Consider this my challenge to one of you, to write a comment in response to this statement to a Norwegian newspaper. I would consider it myself, however I am far from done with my studies and he earlier pointed out the fact that people with Asperger's tend to not finish their education. In other words I do not have much credibility.

Goes to show that not all psychiatrists know what they are talking about.
Even high profile ones that are called to give evidence in court.
Shame about the bad press on national TV.
We will just have to proove them wrong.
By the way are any of you considering making it public that you have Aspergers in your professional career?

I do not know, what happend yesterday sure gives doubt. I am thinking that it will probably be really good thing to attract adults allready diagnosed or who suspect they have Asperger's. But I do not know how often that happens? After what I have come to understand people are usually reffered for anxiety or depression issues no matter what they underlying condition is.

But most important of all I suspect most patiens will be children or adolecents. It's sad to say it, but from reading a message board for parents of autism spectrum kids (and ADHD etc) a lot seems to have reeeeally low expectations of their kids. I am afraid stating you have Asperger's will scare away a lot of this business as the parents might think a long the lines of "Why would I get a ret*d to treat my ret*d son".

But it's an interesting question, I hope more people will answer it!

I am so frustrated right now. Out of five clients I had intakes with over the past two months, only two of them came back. I am doing something wrong, and I don't know what. Maybe I shouldn't have decided to become a therapist. Maybe I should have picked something for which my interpersonal skills wouldn't be so important. I don't know if I am ever going to make it. I feel like my career might be crumbling. I don't know if I will ever be a good enough therapist.