Autism - alternatives to talk therapy?

Um no, but I'm in the same boat. It seems that every service is based around talk therapy - even these online forums is to a certain extent talk therapy.

What I've learned is talking doesn't get me anywhere. What I have tried to communicate to my care team is I need structure, framework, goals, exposure therapy, group therapy, homework, exercises etc. But alas, it's honestly like finding a unicorn because I'm relying on government subsided free services and the people that work for those organisations are not qualified to do such things, they are just social workers or mental health workers that are only qualified to listen, and nod their head and repeat how difficult that must be etc.

I've since learned about coaching, which if I understand this correctly it's kind of like life coaching, where they work with you towards specific goals. Might be more suitable for me, and you?

But I don't have any details on it yet, as I am still researching it myself.

Thanks for your reply @WizardMotor

I definitely feel the same that most services are based around talk therapy.
It’s great that you have a care team even if it’s not overly effective. I started an application for NDIS but my ADHD demand avoidance kicked in and I missed the deadline (and apparently cannot reapply).

Life coaching sounds like it could be a good option as it doesn’t focus on working through past trauma/bad experiences, instead focussing on achievable goals and challenging skewed perspectives. I wonder whether there’s a free/subsidised service somewhere 🤔 I will look into it.
Thanks again for this idea! ☺️

@Spungold

Unfortunately I highly doubt that would be available through mainstream supports it's hard enough just getting a qualified psychologist!

But yeah I think that's the premise, looking forwards instead of looking back. Sometimes looking back is helpful, but at least for me it hasn't proven to be. But I haven't had much luck with finding a good therapist so far in any capacity.

Regarding the NDIS, that doesn't sound right. Worth double checking that one.

Hi @Spungold

Sorry I don't have a constructive answer, but just wanted to say I share your frustration. I'm similar in that I have been to countless talk therapist over the last 20 odd years and none have really helped me.

When talking of our own inner turmoils, thoughts, feelings, and emotions, I am often reminded of the old philosophy quote "If a lion could speak, we could not understand him" (because a lion's life is so alien to ours that we cannot seriously claim to know what the lion means by what it says). I kind of think each person's own brain is like an individual lion, so it's very hard to verbalise these complex ideas let alone get another person to interpret and comprehend them.

One thing that did help me, once, was personal challenges. I remember a friend some how got hold of a few copied pages of a self-help book back in the mid 2000s, and what it did wasn't about talking or changing your inner monologue or anything like that. It was about tangible, physical activities and you'd do a different one each day (mostly around building social confidence, but I'd like to think similar ideas could be applied to other areas you'd like to improve). For example, one of the days' challenges was to "accidentally" dial a wrong number and simply get the person on the other end to recommend you a movie. It was scary at first, but it actually helped me a lot in that area, why more than any talking therapy ever did.

I just wish there were similar books written around building resilience to depression or building ways to around handling ADD or Autism. If you ever think of anything like this please let me know!

For me, as a neurospice, talk therapy helped immensely - this was targeted, structured, intensive MBT alongside a therapy for regular everyday stuff.

So MBT was for 3-4 hours a week (both individual and group sessions). This was every week, twice a week for 18 months solid.

Psychology sessions was weekly 1 hour.

I had both simultaneously.

Then, when I finished MBT, I continued with the 1:1 psych sessions and psychosocial support (I had a psychosocial support worker).

And yes, it's done miracles.

However, I wouldn't have been ready for therapy if I hadn't taken anti anxiety and anti depressant medication.

Also, it took nearly 15 years for hopping from therapist to therapist before I found what worked... then once I found the 'right' therapy and therapists, it only took 3 years or so to get me in a really good place.

So that's my experience.

I agree that any worthwhile supports seem to come from the private sector and a significant price tag!

Talking through the past has been helpful at times but only with those who know me. I find when I go over my history with any new psychologist it puts me back into a negative spiral of emotions that I’ve already worked through. Forward focussed coaching with space to provide context without delving deeply back into those traumas sounds ideal!
I haven’t found anything yet but I’m hyper fixated now and am scouring the corners of the internet for anything worthwhile 😁

Thanks again for chatting with me about this. ☺️

Thanks for tip about NDIS too.

That self-help book sounds like it could definitely be beneficial @Jlol!

It sounds like a much more constructive approach than talk therapy.

The philosophical quote also resonates deeply with me. So many times I’ve spent an entire session trying to explain why and/or how I’ve developed a perspective or decided on an outcome rather than progressing to any helpful advice. This may be why the only person I talk things through is my husband, as we’ve been together for a long time and he understands my drivers and has experienced first-hand some of the abuse I’ve received from family. It’s also why I’m staunchly independent in hacking my mental health 😂

Do you know if this independence is common for ADHD/ASD people?

If I come across a similar book, I’ll post it here and tag you.

Thank you @tyme for sharing your experience!
It sounds like finding the right therapist with the right therapy plan (and meds!) has been immensely beneficial for you ☺️🎉 If you don’t mind me asking, was this through private or public providers? I only ask as things are financially tight for me and I’m in a quandary where I need some support to enable me to reenter the workforce, but need the money I would be making while working to get the right level of support 🥴

In the meantime, I’m extremely grateful to have found these forums. Connecting with others who understand and don’t judge has helped more than I thought it would. 💜☺️

Hey @Spungold ,

All my treatment has been through the public system in Melb. I had case management and part of this, I had a consultant psychiatrist, psychologist, psychosocial worker, peer worker. It was incredibly helpful.

I only started paying a small gap quite recently for maintenance psych appointments, but I don't really need them.

Then again, I don't think it's that 'easy' to access case management nowadays.

When I look back, I feel like I 'won the lottery' in terms of MH support. Look, there were some horrific situations too, but in general, I wouldn't be here with the public system.

Something else that really helped my recovery was PARC admissions. They may be known as stepped care too. Do you have any in your area?

Victoria seem to have a higher level of understanding and services for mental health. I’m in Qld and just did a quick search but didn’t find anything near me.
I’m going to have a more thorough search now as this sounds like it could be a good option.

Thank you for sharing your experience and advice @tyme ☺️💜