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Psychotherapy

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Definition

Barker provides a concise and pragmatic conceptualization of psychotherapy, defining the process as a psychological treatment of life problems. Of interest are four added caveats: the treatment must be provided by a trained practitioner; treatment must occur as part of a professional relationship between provider and patient; treatment must attempt to remove, attenuate or change the life problems; and the process must involve the genesis or nurturance of adaptive behavior and/or personal growth (Barker 1999).

While there are multiple theoretical orientations within the realm of psychotherapy, treatments based upon behavioral and cognitive-behavioral theories have emerged as having the strongest evidence base. These treatments are provided under an array of titles (e.g., self-instructional training, problem-solving therapy, social skills training, and exposure therapy). However, a common thread among all of these psychotherapy programs is their grounding in empirically...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rogers Behavioral Health, Tampa, FL, USA

    Josh Nadeau

  2. Psychology, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Josh Nadeau

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Eric A. Storch

  4. Departments of Psychiatry and Education, UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jeffrey J. Wood

Authors
  1. Josh Nadeau
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  2. Eric A. Storch
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  3. Jeffrey J. Wood
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Josh Nadeau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Nadeau, J., Storch, E.A., Wood, J.J. (2020). Psychotherapy. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_477-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_477-3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

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