The ‘Impossible’ Group: an Experience of Long-term Group Analytic Psychotherapy for Autistic People

Abstract

This work describes an attempt to challenge the prototypical isolation of autistic individuals with the psychotherapeutic group. The challenge is to group people who avoid people, either because of constitutional deficits or due to a life-long history of deficient approaches to their specific patterns of interaction. Here an account of a successful intervention of group analytic psychotherapy will allow a better evaluation of the potential of the group as a therapeutic means of helping severely disabled individuals to live better lives.