Helping college students with autism spectrum disorder: Exploring factors affecting use of counselling

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience mental health concerns at a higher prevalence rate than the general population, yet mental health professionals have limited education, training and experience in counselling individuals with ASD.MethodsTo better understand the unique mental health concerns this population encounters, this qualitative study explored the experiences of 102 college students with ASD as they considered, attended and stopped counselling.ResultsSpecifically, this study investigated the motives the participants reported for attending counselling, the reasons professionals indicated that the participants should attend counselling, the barriers the participants were confronted with in seeking counselling and the causes for terminating counselling.ConclusionBased on these findings, implications for counselling this population and future research are provided.