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Autism and CBT?
Invisible_me
Posts: 287 The Mix Regular
Hi all. So I have e autism was referred to "talking therapies" from care coordinator at docs surgery because u phoned up during an overload she saud she not 'qualified enough, experienced enough ' to deal with it so refeed me.
Did the assessment in November tgey saud a course of cbt will be useful to deal with my anxiety.
I've had 4 sessions m at first I thought she seened nice btw sessions online. But literally urs ridiculous, sessions are likr shes teaching me psychology or hos to conduct cbt. She spent 45mins explaining the thoyghts feeling behaviour (likr how the model works abd the example she did was "worrying over a parcel not arriving in time" which had got nothing to do with whst my worries are or autism. Then I said can we do example related to me:
Situation: sensory overload on road, siten goibg past
Thought: it's too loud.
Feeling: tense..
Behaviour: cry, cover ears etc
Flip thought:, it isnt loud.... seriously! Someone why autism will know a sensory ocerwwhrlm is a physical emotional discomfort not a change your thought.
Ive asked her during next session can we work on repetiveness like me cleaning everything when someone ill or likr bad dreams then causing anxiety she said ",repetiveness and dreams ", was not part if my goals or main area from assessment but at thr point in nov, by anxiety and sensory overload was high not so much my repetiveness or dream.
Noe she literally keeps saying I have hypothetical worry and to onky worty during worry time, I feel my worries are practical or like that need addressing thrm not in worry time.
Today we haf a chat over worry:, bus late, solution catch early bus and I saud ive had enough trying to get out of bed is hard enough and trying to get off bed earlier feels impossible. I can't even get up at the time I'm supposed to and she was like that's your low mood which isn't your goal. Fast forward I kepy going in hoe my autism if really impact me etc and she was like these sessions aren't helping you then I can discharge you but like I still want support abd this can work if she wasn't so "rigid" or "lectury" it judt seem like theres no support!!
She said go back to your gp so I explained what happened ladt time and she was like see a new dr I said why that seems hard and she was like your being to diffucukt you've got an answer for everything. No I'm not being diffucukt these are genuine
I've had enough plodding on us to hard! There's no support! I reach out they refer me to places that just don't work because if v my autism!, I say something thry thibk I'm being diffucukt! Why is there not 1 person who cam work with me.
worries based on past experiences:
Did the assessment in November tgey saud a course of cbt will be useful to deal with my anxiety.
I've had 4 sessions m at first I thought she seened nice btw sessions online. But literally urs ridiculous, sessions are likr shes teaching me psychology or hos to conduct cbt. She spent 45mins explaining the thoyghts feeling behaviour (likr how the model works abd the example she did was "worrying over a parcel not arriving in time" which had got nothing to do with whst my worries are or autism. Then I said can we do example related to me:
Situation: sensory overload on road, siten goibg past
Thought: it's too loud.
Feeling: tense..
Behaviour: cry, cover ears etc
Flip thought:, it isnt loud.... seriously! Someone why autism will know a sensory ocerwwhrlm is a physical emotional discomfort not a change your thought.
Ive asked her during next session can we work on repetiveness like me cleaning everything when someone ill or likr bad dreams then causing anxiety she said ",repetiveness and dreams ", was not part if my goals or main area from assessment but at thr point in nov, by anxiety and sensory overload was high not so much my repetiveness or dream.
Noe she literally keeps saying I have hypothetical worry and to onky worty during worry time, I feel my worries are practical or like that need addressing thrm not in worry time.
Today we haf a chat over worry:, bus late, solution catch early bus and I saud ive had enough trying to get out of bed is hard enough and trying to get off bed earlier feels impossible. I can't even get up at the time I'm supposed to and she was like that's your low mood which isn't your goal. Fast forward I kepy going in hoe my autism if really impact me etc and she was like these sessions aren't helping you then I can discharge you but like I still want support abd this can work if she wasn't so "rigid" or "lectury" it judt seem like theres no support!!
She said go back to your gp so I explained what happened ladt time and she was like see a new dr I said why that seems hard and she was like your being to diffucukt you've got an answer for everything. No I'm not being diffucukt these are genuine
I've had enough plodding on us to hard! There's no support! I reach out they refer me to places that just don't work because if v my autism!, I say something thry thibk I'm being diffucukt! Why is there not 1 person who cam work with me.
worries based on past experiences:
. My doc made qyite hurtful comments when i shared a genuine concern about home "dont come crying to me " ...)
not seeing a male dr i dont trust males.
Other female dr are based at merge practice which is furtther, busy etc hence overwhelming.
Someonenew will makecommentsre my weight and I'm not having that, nhsstaff have made micky rude comments aboutthat.
not seeing a male dr i dont trust males.
Other female dr are based at merge practice which is furtther, busy etc hence overwhelming.
Someonenew will makecommentsre my weight and I'm not having that, nhsstaff have made micky rude comments aboutthat.
5
Comments
i’m really sorry you’re going through this. it sounds like you’re doing everything you can to get the right support, but the system keeps making it harder instead of actually helping. that must feel so exhausting and frustrating, especially when people don’t listen or dismiss what you’re saying. you’re not being difficult at all, you’re just trying to get the help you need in a way that actually works for you, and you deserve that for sure!
it’s so frustrating that professionals keep treating things like a box-ticking exercise instead of adapting their approach to actually support you - i totally understand those situations as unfortunately many professionals seem to do that. therapy should be about helping you, not just following a rigid script. it makes total sense that their approach to cbt isn’t working if they’re not taking your autism into account. sensory overload isn’t just a thought pattern, it’s a real, physical reaction, and dismissing your concerns or telling you to “just see another doctor” without acknowledging how difficult that is for you shows they’re not really listening. you deserve to be heard and supported, not made to feel like you’re the problem for needing accommodations.
i can completely understand why you’re feeling exhausted and fed up with it all. it’s really unfair that you keep getting passed around without finding the right kind of support - i know when i’ve experienced that sort of thing it makes me think “why do i even bother trying”. i wish there was an easy fix, but please know that you don’t have to go through this alone. we all believe in you, and we’re here for you. please don’t give up - you matter, and you deserve proper support!
hope you’re ok - i’m really proud of you
She's literally just doibg it as a tick box. The GP jad been saying for the past 5 years now, ill get you support when? She never knows of anywhere to send me? Don't get me wrong she was supportive ans even just see me for reviews every few months but after thr last appointment... sorry thst was unprofessional.
The care coordinator always says "I'm not trained enough, qualified enough " you don't need training or qualifications to deal with someone crying over the phone. My other point of contact who has left like icer a year ago neve put the phone down on me she used to stay on the phone for 30, 40, to help keep me safe and calm me doem.she was only a receptionist! Saying that the care coordinator has messaged saying I'm hust checking in on you let me knoe if you need a call.
Private is too expensive!
i hear you, and i can feel how exhausting and frustrating this all is. you deserve proper support, not just people ticking boxes and passing you around like an afterthought. it’s beyond frustrating when the system that’s meant to help just leaves you feeling more alone.
i wish we had an easy fix, but what i can say is that you’re not alone in this, we’re here and we care, always. you shouldn’t have to fight this hard just to be heard, but please don’t give up, you matter too much.
i’m really proud of you, you’ve got this
It makes sense what you're saying about how you cannot 'flip' a 'thought' about sensory overwhelm, because the overwhelm is a physical, sensory response rather than a cognition. And how solutions like trying to catch a bus earlier don't seem to take into account the wider picture for you right now, such as how hard it feels to get out of bed and your general mood. I can imagine it feeling tricky too to be told you need to focus on pre-decided therapy 'goal' when so much of what you're going through is interconnected - like the anxiety and repetitiveness! And perhaps it feels hard to seperate them into distinct 'goals' when they're all a part of your wider experience and what its like to be 'you' day-to-day!
Going forwards, what do you feel you'd ideally like to see happen next in your situation, if you felt entirely in control? How is your relationship with your care coordinator?
Here at The Mix, we can also take a look for options of other free counselling and therapy services across the UK, both online and in-person. Would this be something you'd be interested in? We have our own counselling service too which allows you to access up to 8 free sessions. You can self-refer here: https://www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/the-mix-counselling-service.
Keep us updated if you wish, and we're here, @Invisible_me . As @shannon_164 has said - what you're feeling is entirely valid and you deserve to feel supported in a way that feels right and good for you
It's just annoying and unfortunately there seems to be no way forward
From what i've read i'm assuming you've had the session?
Where you able to share how you were feeling about the whole cbt process with them?
Hi. Thanks for reply. She phoned me today. 5mins is all it lasted. She checked in how ive been if I've used strategies and I said I've had a very rough week, practically cried through, sh'd. Did a suicidal thought risk assessment then was like u using the strategy of "it's not loud" and everything else. Said well it doesn't work like that with sensory overload. She said I don't see anxiety it's all low mood and autism which she can't help with so she's discharged me and she just said go back to gp. I asked her to speak to my GP and she said that's not part of by job role. I literally messaged the care coordinator after she sent me a message to say im really struggling tgey didn't reply and I give up with them at the moment after last time! She then put the phone down.
She sent me resources on "problem solving before' so I phoned her bavk and said are you not goungb to go through what you sent me she was like you can read it yourself. I said I literally could gqve found these leaflets mysrlf on Google, aren't you you supposed to talk me throigh it, do an example with me and she was like no, it's all self explanatory you can read the stuff yourself and cbt sessions is me just giving it to you not talking you through it.