cognitive behavior therapy- does it work for asperger's?

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I was wondering if anyone could let me know if they have had experience with cognitive behavior therapy for asperger's? If so, what did you think of it? Was it helpful?

I've been in therapy for depression and CBT was attempted but it did not really help it helps some though. I don't think it would help with AS though.

I had some CBT in the past and had stumbling blocks; namely the idea that all negative thoughts are necessarily "cognitive distortions".

CBT tries to get you to change your thoughts, because the idea is that thoughts are supposed to change feelings.

Like if you think someone is mad at you, you are supposed to come up with alternate (less negative) reasons other than the reason you are SURE of (such as I have AS and made a complete fool out of myself in this social situation, and they are ignoring/hate/despise me). A CBT therapist would say "Write down other reasons, like...."

"The person is having a bad day."
"The person is distracted"
"Is really mad at the person standing behind me, only i mistook their glare as being directed at me"
....and so on

So you are supposed to change your thoughts even if you have factual or "gut" evidence that something is really true. If you believe something negative, you are supposed to reframe it in a different light - and keep doing it until things sound less negative.

It just doesn't sound like a scientific approach to me. We have evolved as humans to have an internal radar or intuition. IMHO, life isn't necessarily "positive". There is a mixture of good and bad, and some situations are all bad and we should trust our instincts.

But the Cognitive end of CBT tells you to take a linear approach to it all and assume that anything negative is faulty thinking. Due to the inherent illogic of all of this, CBT hasn't always worked.

However, I believe the BT part (behavior therapy) can be effective, such as exposure therapy for anxiety disorders.

It did for me and I personally feel that CBT is the best thing there is. But I did it for anxiety not AS they didn't have group for that.
Also I've been trying out some do-it-yourself-cbt.

I've not experienced it myself but this is what I've read about it.

“A psychotherapist can help these adults by teaching them to (1) recognize and modify automatic maladaptive thoughts, (2) more accurately “read” the behavior of others to better understand social interactions, and (3) modify their own behavior in response. This new learning helps the individual with AS improve social functioning, increase coping/stress management skills, and prevent or reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression."


Gaus, Valerie L. (2007-08-10). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adult Asperger Syndrome (Guides to Individualized Evidence-Based Treatment) (pp. 3-4). Guilford Press. Kindle Edition.

“There is not a single literature providing us with evidence-based interventions to treat mental health problems in adults with AS. However, I have discovered that there are more than a few pieces of evidence supporting the use of CBT with this population, if we consider multiple literature sources, such as theory and research on:
• Information-processing dysfunction in AS.
• Social cognition in typical people.
• The risk factors and effects of stress in typical people.
• Cognitive dysfunction in typical people with anxiety or depression.
• The efficacy of CBT for typical people experiencing anxiety and mood disorders.
• The efficacy of CBT for children and teens with AS.
If we combine what we know from these separate areas, we do have enough evidence to offer CBT to adults with AS."


Gaus, Valerie L. (2007-08-10). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adult Asperger Syndrome (Guides to Individualized Evidence-Based Treatment) (p. 4). Guilford Press. Kindle Edition.

CBT did not work well for me, and I'm averse to it, but I know that it works well with others. So... I guess it depends, if you're willing to accept that it's your thought patterns that are off and can be altered to make for a better life and increased well-being. One issue is that some CBT therapists ignore the actual social factors that play into one's mental health, placing the blame entirely on the patient and thus causing an even worse situation.

I have had some (not a ton, but a bit) of social skills training, which was behavioral in nature. I found it to be somewhat helpful. I think the main thing that I learned was that I needed to practice making facial expressions that match what people are saying to me. Also, I worked on how to pick up on key things in a conversation to make the conversation progress, which I can do fairly decently. Also, I practiced walking more naturally, which comes easier at some times than others.

However, I have done CBT for other things, and it was helpful. Like, I used cognitive-behavioral strategies to deal with my anxiety and eating disorder, and it was really effective, in my opinion.

I generally don't do CBT in therapy, though, I generally just talk about whatever I want to.

I am actually going to see a therapist this afternoon who specializes in CBT therapy for Anxiety and Depression.

So, we shall see.

Hi all
I would be very grateful if you could participate in my study on therapy?

I've posted it in: General Autism Discussion \ Study on therapy

Thank you so much