First day of group therapy

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Well yesterday was my first day attending group therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder. I kind of have mixed feelings about it, but considering it was the first meeting I'm not jumping to any immediate conclusions.

Most of the meeting was spent, well, talking about things to talk about in future meetings? This part was a little strange to me, especially as I had no context as to what had been discussed in past meetings.

Topics that were discussed were brought up, a few fleeting comments made, and then onto the next subject. There was very little in terms of actual discussion, just people making different statements and the therapist echoing said statements. This wasn't an issue except when someone would say something like "I feel like my life isn't going anywhere". Instead of trying to find out why this person felt that way, or offering suggestions or solutions or helpful advice, the therapist just moved onto the next topic.

There was also the fact that I was (as far as I could tell) the only non-male identified person in the group. I assumed this had more to do with autism being more common in males, but I learned over the course of the meeting that the males and females had been separated for reasons that weren't made clear, and they were discussing the possibility of reintroducing coed meetings. I don't understand why people should be separated on the basis of gender.

On the other hand it was kind of nice just to listen to people and be part of something. I could kind of identify with everyone there on at least some level. I guess it's kind of a small relief to know I'm not alone even locally.

I'm gonna attend a few more meetings to see if anything productive comes out of the group. If things don't seem to be heading in a positive direction I'll probably quit. No sense in paying for something that doesn't produce results.

Has anyone else tried group therapy? What was your experience like? Was it helpful to you?

I'm in a group that's sponsored by the AANE (Asperger's Association of New England). It took a while, but I've come to feel very comfortable in the group, maybe more so than I am in neurotypical settings. Sure, there are problems -- like the aspies who talk too much and try to dominate the whole session, but our moderator does a pretty good job of making sure everyone gets their say. I haven't felt this comfortable in a group setting in quite a while.

I gave it a try some years ago and found it's a terrible waste of time and basically leads nowhere, it was just gossip like one can hear at a tea party or in any pub.

For me, therapy means I pay a therapist to help me achieving a particular, previously precisely defined goal. For example, speech therapy or time management skills. And during my appointments the therapist has to work exclusively with me. I think group activities are basically ineffective.

I've done group therapy in 6th grade and it wasn't an autism one. It was for kids with problems. I am not sure what kind. maybe with all different kinds.


I found the first one helpful but I hated the second one because we always get stuck in traffic on the way home and it make me miss part of my favorite TV show and I have anxiety every time. Plus there were no poker chips we be collecting for prizes and there were no prizes either so it made the therapy boring.

Can't stand group therapy. When all people talk about is their problems and nobody offers solutions, the atmosphere tends to feel rather depressing. Then again, all the group therapies I've been in have multiple/mixed issues; it's never been one specific disorder.

I can't imagine much worse than sitting in a group talking things over.