Therapeutic Strategies for Adults with ASD. Building Romantic and Intimate Relationships; Starting Family.

Itskovich G.

doi:10.17759/autdd.2021190302

Previous issue (2021. Vol. 19, no. 4)

Autism and Developmental Disorders

Publisher: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education

ISSN (printed version): 1994-1617

ISSN (online): 2413-4317

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/autdd

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published since 2003

Published quarterly

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Autism and Developmental Disorders
2021. Vol. 19, no. 3, 15–22
doi:10.17759/autdd.2021190302
ISSN: 1994-1617 / 2413-4317 (online)

Therapeutic Strategies for Adults with ASD. Building Romantic and Intimate Relationships; Starting Family. ¹⁰³

Itskovich G.
LCSW-R, Master’s in Social Work, is a Psychotherapist in Private Practice, and the DIR-Expert, The Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL), New York, USA
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1722-2203
e-mail: galaitsk@gmail.com

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Online translation in english

This paper further examines unique aspects of emotional life of adults with ASD and challenges and rewards of building long-term romantic and family relationships. Psychotherapeutic methods of choice, DIRFloortime and mentalization, are aimed at forming, maintenance and flexible repair of the interpersonal relationship: DIRFloortime offers play- and affect-based strategies and helps to build interpersonal relationship, while mentalization techniques provide metacognitive intervention and serve as scaffolding for emotional thinking and higher-level cognition. Techniques of Floortime play, Socratic questions and collateral work proved to be effective. Clinical vignettes illustrate moving the entire family up towards more effective and harmonious co-regulated interaction with corrections to sensory triggers, elements of psychoeducation about self-regulation, and direct self-regulation individual coaching. Coregulating affect, raising self-awareness, demonstrating relationship building and repair, as well as interest in the other in the course of playful interaction; waiting and gently prodding into the emotionally meaningful subjects helps the therapist to help adult autists to erect the societal support system.

Keywords: autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), emotional development, DIRFloortime, adult psychotherapy, mentalization, affect-based therapy, theory of mind, playful interaction

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/autdd.2021190302

For Reference

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