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Guides to Individualized Evidence-Based Treatment
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adult Asperger Syndrome
This book has been replaced by Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Second Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-3768-6.
244 pages, Hardcover
First published August 10, 2007
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167 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 20, 2011
Three fatal flaws sunk this book.
1. Ms. Gaus spends too much time reviewing the nature of Asperger Syndrome, discussing how to assess and conceptualize new cases, and giving extensive case histories. The first 132 pages drone on about this in way too much detail. It sets up the expectation that she will go into as much detail about interventions.
2. Ms. Gaus glosses over the interventions in a haphazard manner, explaining her sudden lack of comprehensiveness to the existence of extensive literature on these topics. This choice is an affront to everyone who chooses to read the book, since the whole reason we would pick it up is to learn how to apply the CBT skills to this specific population. Instead of giving the reader a comprehensive source for CBT skills and how to apply them to adults with Asperger Syndrome, Ms. Gaus writes as if you have done all you need to do in assessing the client, and then you can just go ahead and use the skills you have learned from other sources. This point, along with point number 1 makes the book very lopsided and front heavy, and extremely disappointing.
3. Reading the book is like trying to eat a bucket of sand sand: dry dry dry.
1. Ms. Gaus spends too much time reviewing the nature of Asperger Syndrome, discussing how to assess and conceptualize new cases, and giving extensive case histories. The first 132 pages drone on about this in way too much detail. It sets up the expectation that she will go into as much detail about interventions.
2. Ms. Gaus glosses over the interventions in a haphazard manner, explaining her sudden lack of comprehensiveness to the existence of extensive literature on these topics. This choice is an affront to everyone who chooses to read the book, since the whole reason we would pick it up is to learn how to apply the CBT skills to this specific population. Instead of giving the reader a comprehensive source for CBT skills and how to apply them to adults with Asperger Syndrome, Ms. Gaus writes as if you have done all you need to do in assessing the client, and then you can just go ahead and use the skills you have learned from other sources. This point, along with point number 1 makes the book very lopsided and front heavy, and extremely disappointing.
3. Reading the book is like trying to eat a bucket of sand sand: dry dry dry.
September 22, 2023
So. Cognitive behavioral therapy as part of work with adults with ASD, a manual for therapists.
How can it be useful? Firstly, it is clearer to me as a conditional patient how therapy should ideally proceed and what skills the therapist should ideally possess. Secondly, it is clearer how it should work and with what dynamics. Third - there are plenty of references to literature, including self-help literature. There is more exposure to cognitive behavioral therapy in the context of ASD.
What I liked: the book is structured, everything is explained in detail, possible comorbid disorders and methods of diagnosis (again, in the context of ASD) and work with them are mentioned - besides ADHD, for example, CPTSD or generalized anxiety is also considered. Female autism is mentioned - in particular that it is under-researched and it is a problem. Specific issues that arise in people with ASD that cognitive-behavioral or dialectical-behavioral therapy can address are discussed. Differences in comparison to neurotypical people are mentioned - for example, in the context of exhibiting suicidal behavior.
What I didn't like: my own obsessive thought while reading that this is just a huge crutch to help to exist in a society that is not going to change in any way. One's own cognitive biases can be corrected, but what about other people's prejudices?
How can it be useful? Firstly, it is clearer to me as a conditional patient how therapy should ideally proceed and what skills the therapist should ideally possess. Secondly, it is clearer how it should work and with what dynamics. Third - there are plenty of references to literature, including self-help literature. There is more exposure to cognitive behavioral therapy in the context of ASD.
What I liked: the book is structured, everything is explained in detail, possible comorbid disorders and methods of diagnosis (again, in the context of ASD) and work with them are mentioned - besides ADHD, for example, CPTSD or generalized anxiety is also considered. Female autism is mentioned - in particular that it is under-researched and it is a problem. Specific issues that arise in people with ASD that cognitive-behavioral or dialectical-behavioral therapy can address are discussed. Differences in comparison to neurotypical people are mentioned - for example, in the context of exhibiting suicidal behavior.
What I didn't like: my own obsessive thought while reading that this is just a huge crutch to help to exist in a society that is not going to change in any way. One's own cognitive biases can be corrected, but what about other people's prejudices?
March 16, 2012
This book is for the clinician only. It has nothing whatsoever about CBT for the layman. It does not even have general insights were an aspie could personally utilize the information presented. It only is a loooong argument about why CBT will work for those with aspergers, which is basically a good hearted guess on the author's part.
The book was more than half way finished before the topic of CBT was even uncovered. The entire first half and thensome was about diagnosing people with aspergers. The author uses ad nauseum case studies and about five client histories to support methodological applications of treatment options. The author's ideas are easily pulled out of thin air and dusted with common sense. I don't need to read a book to know that if a patient moves they may not be able to continue therapy. I don't need to spend time and money to learn that sometimes patients have medical insurance which may change and therefore end treatment for financial reasons. And once these points are made, I certainly do not need them extrapolated on. It was like a bad term paper. Aside from the forever obvious, this book is riddled with re re re re re re recapitulations.
Arrrgh! I am very sorry to have wasted my dollars on a book which only told me to read about CBT elsewhere. Gee, for real??
The book was more than half way finished before the topic of CBT was even uncovered. The entire first half and thensome was about diagnosing people with aspergers. The author uses ad nauseum case studies and about five client histories to support methodological applications of treatment options. The author's ideas are easily pulled out of thin air and dusted with common sense. I don't need to read a book to know that if a patient moves they may not be able to continue therapy. I don't need to spend time and money to learn that sometimes patients have medical insurance which may change and therefore end treatment for financial reasons. And once these points are made, I certainly do not need them extrapolated on. It was like a bad term paper. Aside from the forever obvious, this book is riddled with re re re re re re recapitulations.
Arrrgh! I am very sorry to have wasted my dollars on a book which only told me to read about CBT elsewhere. Gee, for real??
December 21, 2018
More clinical. Did give some good background information though.
November 15, 2016
I need to find a free ebook/epub version of this book ASAP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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