Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Abbey Eisenhower

Second Advisor

Heidi M. Levitt

Third Advisor

Kristen Bottema-Beutel

Abstract

With two percent of US adults being autistic and high co-occurrence of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, it is imperative that therapists are prepared to support them in a way that does not create further harm. This study aimed to understand autistic adults’ therapy experiences, and specifically explore their experiences with ableist or affirming practices in therapy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 autistic adults about their experiences in therapy and used a critical constructivist grounded theory methodology. Results found five categories, including that autistic adults (1) were often invalidated by therapists who did not understand the heterogeneity of autism or who did not believe their autistic identity. Autistic adults wanted therapists who (2) recognized the marginalization of autistic adults, (3) avoided defaulting to neuronormative norms to understand autistic adults, (4) understood autistic adults’ unique emotional and practical needs, and (5) provided sensory and communication accommodations. The core category concluded that when therapists recognized autism as a marginalized social identity, they can provide the attitudinal and practical supports needed for neurodiversity-affirming care. This study has important implications in supporting the development of a theory for neurodiversity affirming therapy based on the lived experiences of autistic adults. By gaining a deeper understanding of how therapists can provide neurodiversity affirming care, these insights can be more effectively integrated into training models for therapists.

Comments

Free and open access to this Campus Access Thesis is made available to the UMass Boston community by ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global (https://www.proquest.com/) or through Interlibrary Loan. If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users

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Additional and Related Files

Diss Signature Page_Completed7.24'.pdf (521 kB)

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