Table 2.
Mental Health and Therapy Experiences
| Number (Percent) or M (SD) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mental Health Diagnoses | Ever Diagnosed | Currently a Problem |
| Anxiety Disorder | 225 (74.3%) | 178 (58.7%) |
| Depression | 227 (74.9%) | 148 (48.8%) |
| Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | 153 (50.5%) | 112 (37.0%) |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | 126 (41.6%) | 95 (31.4%) |
| Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | 66 (21.8%) | 41 (13.5%) |
| Bipolar Disorder | 59 (19.5%) | 27 (8.9%) |
| Any of Above | 270 (89.1%) | 230 (75.9%) |
| Prior Therapy Experience | ||
| No | 34 (11.2%) | |
| Yes | 269 (88.8%) | |
| Importance of Therapist’s Autism Knowledge† | 4.48 (0.88) | |
| Type(s) of Therapist | Therapist Type | Autism Knowledge ‡ |
| Psychologist | 210 (69.3%) | 3.41 (1.21) |
| Social Worker | 126 (41.6%) | 3.05 (1.27) |
| Licensed Professional Counselor | 172 (56.8%) | 3.07 (1.25) |
| Other type of therapist | 35 (11.6%) | 3.15 (1.23) |
| Prior Use of Specific Therapy Strategies§ | ||
| Cognitive Strategies | 201 (74.7%) | |
| Mindfulness Meditation | 121 (45.0%) | |
| Deep Breathing | 144 (53.5%) | |
| Guided Imagery or Visualization | 83 (30.9%) | |
| Progressive Muscle Relaxation | 57 (21.2%) | |
| Exposure | 53 (19.7%) | |
| Behavioral Activation | 75 (27.9%) | |
†
“How important is it to you that your therapist knows a lot about autism?” Response options from 1 = not at all important to 5 = very important.
‡
Among those with experience with this type of therapist, “How much did this therapist know about autism?” Response options from 1 = no knowledge to 5 = a great deal of knowledge.
§
Among the subsample (n = 269) of those with prior therapy experience.