Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Versus a Counselling Intervention for Anxiety in Young People with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Versus a Counselling Intervention for Anxiety in Young People with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Aug 02;:
Authors: Murphy SM, Chowdhury U, White SW, Reynolds L, Donald L, Gahan H, Iqbal Z, Kulkarni M, Scrivener L, Shaker-Naeeni H, Press DA
Abstract
The use of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) as a treatment for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been explored in a number of trials. Whilst CBT appears superior to no treatment or treatment as usual, few studies have assessed CBT against a control group receiving an alternative therapy. Our randomised controlled trial compared use of CBT against person-centred counselling for anxiety in 36 young people with ASD, ages 12-18. Outcome measures included parent- teacher- and self-reports of anxiety and social disability. Whilst each therapy produced improvements in participants, neither therapy was superior to the other to a significant degree on any measure. This is consistent with findings for adults.
PMID: 28770527 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - August 2, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Murphy SM, Chowdhury U, White SW, Reynolds L, Donald L, Gahan H, Iqbal Z, Kulkarni M, Scrivener L, Shaker-Naeeni H, Press DA Tags: J Autism Dev Disord Source Type: research