Stages in Becoming an Autistic Psychotherapist: A Grounded Theory Study
This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.
About the autistic author markerCooper, M. B. (2026). Stages in Becoming an Autistic Psychotherapist: A Grounded Theory Study [Dissertation]. https://hdl.handle.net/1807/151977
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Abstract
Sixteen licensed psychotherapists (Mage= 40) from Canada, U.K., and the U.S. identifying as autistic, completed semi-structured interviews reporting personal and professional experiences. Transcript data was analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. A core category of Becoming an Autistic Psychotherapist emerged, containing four stages encompassing early life, training, empathy and burnout, and therapy practice. Participants reported overcoming challenges within each life stage that informed their continuing development. Early life challenges led to a lifelong interest in psychology. Participants described being instructed to systematically mask or conform body language during training, and encountering a lack of understanding of their needs as autistic students. Participants predominantly reported not empathy ‘deficits’ but experiences consistent with ‘double empathy,’ such as easier communication with like-neurotype others, which informed their chosen client populations and therapeutic practice. Participants reported employing modeling, selective self-disclosure, and drawing from lived experience to support their neurodivergent therapy clients.
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