Relational Therapy with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Beliefs, Behaviors, Assumptions and Goals

Relational therapy is based on understanding autism from an incomplete attachment. It is a therapy that utilizes the relationship as the basis of growth of the autistic child. It is a therapy that utilizes assumptions that the parent/professional believes when interacting with the child. These beliefs/assumptions form the basis of the actual therapy. It emphasizes working with the emotional development of the individual by developing the ability of the child to feel, think about and verbalize their emotions and recognize the emotional states of others (theory of mind). Relational therapy cannot be practiced unless the parent/professional can first accept and adopt important beliefs, behaviors, assumptions and goals. These core four (beliefs, behaviors, assumptions and goals) help form the basis of the worldview the parent or therapist develops in order to work with this population.

This blog will address the first two elements of the core four which are beliefs and behaviors and the next blog will comment on assumptions and goals.

Relational Therapy is based on the following beliefs: a) Acceptance of Relational Therapy assumptions, b) Belief that by accepting these assumptions that one can form a meaningful relationship and attachment with the child, c) Through the relationship change can occur and d) That this change may not only occur within the child but may also occur within the parent/professional (reciprocal).

Relational therapy depends on the following behaviors of the parent/professional:
a) Certain beliefs that must first be incorporated within the parent/professional, b) The development of an emotional attachment between the child and parent/professional, c) The utilization of specific techniques that promote an attachment, d) The desire to experiment with techniques that have never been tried before, e) The acknowledgement that this is a time consuming process, f) The desire to persevere especially when resistance within either of the members of the dyad is very strong, g) The ability to live within the unknown and with ambiguity, h) The ability to not blame the child for the behaviors that they are using because of their lack of attachment (the ability to move from blame to understanding the behaviors as a means of communication), i) The ability to understand that “autistic behaviors” are communications from the unconscious, j) The ability to use one’s countertransference to inform one’s self about the child and the relationship and k) The ability to hold on to hope for an attachment and the forming of a relationship.