Autism is a disorder that is not so easy to treat. It is generally found among kids, teens, and adults. There are several therapies used for treating the symptoms, but experiential behavioral therapy for autism has been the most successful one. In the medical term, we call it CBT – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. As per the experts, the therapeutic sessions are often performed as personalized sessions that are highly effective for all age groups as it takes into account the emotions, concerns, thoughts, and the following behavior.
How is CBT an active approach for autism disorder?
We all know that autistic patients are stuck in general patterns of understanding, thinking, and responding to the patterns. And the experiential counseling helps them in apprehending the meaning of the conversations. In simple words, their altering thoughts and answers are targeted, which allows them to change the way they interpret circumstances. So experiential behavioral therapy for autism is a powerful intervention as it changes the whole game with treating many of the disturbing symptoms like anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and trauma.
Strategies involved
Well, everything depends on the patient’s condition and treatment goals, and there are numerous approaches to sort it out. Commonly, it includes identifying the specific issues that a patient encounters in daily routine, knowing of the unproductive patterns, inspecting the odds, and learning new ways while putting them into every session.
Here are the top three strategies or techniques that are generally part of every CBT.
● Guided discovery
Most of the therapists begin with familiarizing themselves with the patient’s viewpoint. Further, they will share a set of questions that are designed to challenge and broaden the belief and thinking of autistic individuals. Dr. Blake Ruble, LPC, NCC certified experiential therapist in Lakewood, Colorado, shares that the patients are also requested to share their evidence-based assumptions. It helps them to experience and learn from the new aspects from different perspectives, especially the ones that have never been discussed.
● Restructuring
This powerful technique is all about taking a fresh look at the individual’s negative thoughts and patterns. No doubt, the worst will also happen, and there will be situations that will be given much more importance than required. And following a similar thinking pattern somehow affects the participant’s socio-psychological behavior. Often, during the experiential counseling, the expert may ask the individual about their generic thought process, just to identify the negative patterns. Here reframing their thoughts and concerns come into the treatment, which makes them positive and productive.
● Exposure therapy
Typically, it is performed to help the patient confront the uneven phobias and fears that slowly exhibit them to anxiety. A certified experiential therapist will always execute them in small increments as the exposure therapy may make the patient feel less vulnerable while boosting confidence for combating such situations.
Verdict
Conclusively, there are many other techniques as well as treating autism with experiential behavioral therapy. But the above mentioned are the most effective ones. Besides this, many other certified experiential therapists in Lakewood, Colorado, also put role-playing, muscle relaxation, imagery, and journalizing in action. So when you work with a board-certified therapist, you don’t have to worry about the specifics, measurables, and achievable. Rest, these sessions generally last for an hour or two, and it also depends on the requirements and goals. So the autistic individual or any of his accompanying family members or friends should make sure to do the homework for this short-term yet effective therapy.
