Girl is autistic. Girl is surprised that tools and strategies that help autistic people help her. Girl is grateful for online therapy.
I (26) finally found the right kind of therapy. After years of trying mostly talk therapy, I chose an IFS (aka internal family systems) therapist and I’ve been doing really well with it.
Part of why I’ve made such breakthroughs in a relatively short amount of time, is that I have online appointments from my home that I love! When I am confronting big overwhelming emotional and unknown territory…
- I am in my house clothes (maximum comfort)
- I have all the regulatory tools & items I need no matter how big they are
- I don’t have to do small talk with other workers in the building.
- I don’t have to talk to anyone I don’t want to talk to!
- My cat is there (she is also a sensory tool for me teehee)
- I don’t have to process the smell of the office or the textures of the sitting places or any other sensory distractor that comes with in-place
- I don’t have to plan around the drive, traffic, parking or extra time off work.
- I feel safe to close my eyes (which is now a sensory tool! that I learned in therapy! I can reduce any stimulus immediately!)
Making accommodations to my environment creates more space in my brain to explore scary things and practicing sitting with those scary things and more space in my brain period.
Right now, online therapy = accommodation!