Autistic Psychotherapists’ Practice and Client-Side Experiencing of Therapy: Therapeutic Orientation Preferences, Therapist-Client Fit Factors, and In-Session Experiences

This small-sample, mixed-methods report (n = 27) details part of a larger autism-related psychotherapy perceptions study conducted in Spring 2023. This specific report is the first step into a program of research on the experiences and perceptions of neurodivergent, particularly, here, autistic, psychotherapists and mental health counselors. Analysis of responses to the Cooper-Norcross Inventory of Preferences (C-NIP) measure suggested that both as therapists and persons themselves receiving therapy or counseling, these autistic therapists preferred nondirectivity; to encourage, or be encouraged, to lean in to and experience difficult feelings and for the therapist to engage in conversation around their relationship; and a focus on their present or that of the person with whom they are working. As persons themselves in therapy, they wanted challenge and confrontation on the part of their therapist; and as therapists they preferred to be warmly supportive and to engage in a manner reflective of unconditional positive regard. Results are situated relative to cross-cultural findings with mental health professionals in the United Kingdom and United States, Germany, and China, with whom this study’s volunteers share similarities and from whom they also differ.