'Psychological Treatment' for Asperger's

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I've been offered 'treatment' for Asperger's in the form of specialist CBT. This is, apparantly, meant to enable to me 'fit in' with society.

What is the general view on this approach, and should I go ahead with it? Personally, I take pride in my differences but, at the same time, realise that I don't fit into society's standards.

I wouldn't go for it personally. If people can't accept me for being atypical and not being like the majority of the population, they can piss off. That's the way I look at it.

It's their problem for not being able to accommodate you, not yours.

Some people say it's worked for them.
I've had it and my opinion is that treating a neurological condition like as though it were psychological is stupid at best and damaging at worst.

I do not see how CBT is going to up and make you fit in with society...I do not think it can do that. It can maybe help if you have issues like depression or anxiety since it is sometimes effective for those, though not in my case I find it to be entirely useless but it does help some people. I've certainly never heard of it as anything that would 'reduce' autism.

I think it's a really f*****g terrible idea to be honest.

Social skills training is fine, as long as you don't consider it as a means to make you a "better" person. Sometimes, these skills are necessary to survive, but don't forget your true self in the process.

My psychologist saved my life. It's taken a while for the beneficial effects to take hold because I had to sort through a lot of anger, blaming everybody else and not recognising my own faults etc. before I could get anywhere.

Our last session was the first since he diagnosed me (verbally, and I quote: "If I were to put on my clinicians' hat I would say you're a high-functioning autistic.") It was good to be able to speak to him as two people 'on the spectrum,' as he revealed that he's also an Aspie. There's a reason we clicked I guess; our sessions often segue into this strangely nourishing form of abstract philosophy.

This is in stark contrast to another I was speaking to whilst trying to study graphic design. She's a great therapist, and showed me direct examples of how I'd lied and distorted stories over the course of a few sessions, forcing me to confront that I'm not as honest as I'd like to think at times, particularly when recounting my perceived hurt over past relationships etc.
On the other hand, I think I made her uncomfortable when trying to explain the way I feel internally; she couldn't relate to it in the slightest and she really didn't want to go into detail about it as I get the impression she thought I was describing a major mental illness, and acting on it would have seen me institutionalised.

She dismissed my enquiries into HFA outright, stating 'you don't present as autistic to me.' I returned personality tests which gave me the highest possible score for anxiety and the lowest possible for the ability to think about anybody but myself which I immediately denied to myself... but yeah, I can see it now.

Both have been beneficial, but my advice to you is to give it a good shot; and don't give up on the therapy if it doesn't work for you... Just don't be afraid to make sure you've found the right therapist.

I don't see my internal world as a problem... It's the whole integration with the external world thing that I have trouble with, and my depression and anxiety seems to stem from that. CBT might see you able to reframe your thoughts in a way that will ultimately empower you and allow you to function as you are meant to.

One more thing... Give it time. I mean at least 6 months of regular sessions, a year if they're more infrequent.

GOOD LUCK

TL;DR: CBT, *beep* yeah!

EDIT: CBT is unlikely to help you 'fit in.' Square peg round hole and all.
What it will help you do is find the place, within yourself and in the external world, where you DO fit in.

For example, I went to a breakcore gig last night (think hardcore techno and drum and bass making some serious love right,) and as usual was intimidated by all the 'scenesters' who really intimidate me and make me feel out of place. I reasoned with this thought, and figured that there had to be people who felt the same say... So I sought them out.

On one level, I don't belong there because I'm not cool enough. In reality, I write 200+bpm speedcore which always gets a positive response, even from crowds who aren't into it, and am actually more entitled to be there than half of the trendy f***wits who follow the scene because it's edgy.

So I sought out some of the artists and had some incredibly meaningful conversations, about everything from social work to mental health, and crazy new ways of breaking sound

Though I don't often go to these gigs, by utilising some of the techniques I've learned I was able to reframe my thoughts from 'I don't belong here,' to 'I have a right to be here and a positive contribution to make.'

Still spent a lot of time staring at the ground though