Where do I sit? This is usually one of the questions some of the adult autistic people ask when they enter the office. But it is not the only one. There are many other questions that they ask, and that many of us clinical psychologists who receive people in the clinic do not always expect. We often assume that the person already knows how the appointment will go. Or what will be expected of you in terms of participation in the consultations. Even when we explain the framework of the appointments, there still seem to be questions from the autistic person. And these questions seem to continue to exist throughout the intervention process.
But let it not be thought that questions are only asked by adult autistic people. There are also many good questions that are asked by clinical psychologists regarding what to do when they receive an adult autistic person in consultation.
Whether it's questions related to the assessment process and what instruments to use. Whether it's those for diagnosis, but also those that can be used for issues of associated psychiatric comorbidities. And no, it is not just using a scale for anxiety and depression and looking at the result. There is already enough scientific evidence and clinical experience gathered to know that we need to do differently.
But in intervention, the questions seem to be endless. Whether in aspects related to the therapeutic setting or the therapeutic relationship/alliance, but also in the very adaptations to the intervention techniques used, there are many questions and adaptations that need to be made. And no, it is not enough just to implement a CBT intervention programme for depression in adult people when one is going to work with adult autistic people with depressive symptomatology. And the same can be said for social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder or others.
That is also why I have been doing/reviewing an article on this topic of the necessary adaptations in the process of psychological assessment/intervention to be carried out with the adult autistic person so that I can share it with you.
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