Has anyone had experience with a therapist who has Aspergers?

[Alaric593]

Due to the death of my mother and stepfather within the same year, I decided to get head of the inevitable and reach out to someone.

I had my first appointment today and it turns out she was also diagnosed with Aspergers in her 30s. First impression following the appointment was that this is going to be highly productive because she has an empircal and rational understanding of it and our discussion was without confusion at all. I understood her and her responses were accurate to my life even beyond what I told her. She described my marriage perfectly.

Just wondered if anyone has had this experience or did I find a diamond here?

 

[Magna]

You did find a diamond, but it's no surprise to me that you understood each other well and without confusion. At least one study has been done that showed: 1) that autistic people don't have a problem in general communicating with each other. 2) NT people don't have a problem in general communicating with each other. 3) In groups of NTs and Autistics...historically Autistics have been deemed deficient in communication skills (not the NT).

The study also proves a 4th situation that should be given the most credence and be taught more than the other three: Autistics should be deemed no more or less deficient in communication skills in communicating with NTs than NTs should be deemed no more or less deficient when grouped with Autistic people. In other words, NTs are just as deficient in communicating with autistic people (who don't have the same issues communicating with each other).

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I used to have an Autistic therapist. I thought she was a great listener who actually understood my issues, unlike other therapists I had. Glad you found someone you like

 

[Tom]

Just wondered if anyone has had this experience or did I find a diamond here?

I have never seen any stats on autistic presence in the mental health fields so only have speculative observation. But I would be willing to bet autistics are over represented as far as their occurance in the population goes. The CDC currently has autistics as being 2-3% of the population. My guess is their presence in mental health (therapists, shrinks, teachers, researchers, etc) is at least twice that. It is not realy rare. But it still is not a large percentage overall: 4-6% (or perhaps a bit more), so finding one isn't easy.

I think their is a steering mechanism at work. Having experienced the difficulties can motivate one to try and help others with it, if one can negotiate the obstacles of being ND in a NT world. This is maybe reinforced by believing they may be more effective in this work (It takes one to know one).

 

[Bolletje]

I’ve had the pleasure of briefly seeing a therapist who is a woman on the spectrum herself. It was very encouraging for me.

 

[Magna]

I’ve had the pleasure of briefly seeing a therapist who is a woman on the spectrum herself. It was very encouraging for me.

Did you relate well to her and if so, do you think you related better to her than you would have an NT woman?

 

[Bolletje]

Did you relate well to her and if so, do you think you related better to her than you would have an NT woman?

I did relate to her a lot. I don’t think it was necessarily more than it would have been with an NT therapist though. But for me as a medical professional myself, it was very comforting to meet someone with similar challenges that managed to find a niche that works for her and allows her to work. It gives me hope I will find it too.

 

[Alaric593]

Did you relate well to her and if so, do you think you related better to her than you would have an NT woman?

Yes. I've had female NT therapists before and it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't productive either. Even with a rational understanding of the literature that she had, we still were not really understanding each other.

This one, she knew empirically what I was conveying and her responses reflected a visceral understanding rather than merely an academic.

 

[Alexej]

I have experience of a therapist who is autistic himself. However, their ability to keep appointments and keep track of their inbox killed the relationship for me.