Disorder specific knowledge can make a valuable contribution to client-centered theory of personality and therapy. It contributes to a better understanding of the processes that occur in the client and in the therapeutic relationship. This is especially true for client problems that go beyond our daily empathy and acceptance. This article focuses on the Asperger syndrome. We start from the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV-TR. Then we look at the syndrome in a more phenomenological way with a specific case. We do not merely discuss the characteristic set of symptoms, we also deeply discuss the specific way of living and experiencing. Because the syndrome is often described as a ‘social blindness’ or a ‘social short-sightedness’ we give broad attention to the typical difficulties in the social interaction, including the difficulties that arise in the therapeutic contact. In a second part we deal with the psychotherapeutic treatment of clients with the Asperger syndrome. We give attention to the risks and challenges in working with these clients. We propose a ‘made-to-measure’ treatment that accommodates their person specific way of functioning. We emphasize the value of client-centered and experiential psychotherapy.
disorder specific knowledge in client-centered theory of therapy, made-to-measure treatment, Asperger syndrome
The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.
