This book examines the theoretical foundations of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for autistic individuals. It describes assessment procedures, case formulation models, and structured treatment planning tailored for autistic youth. The book addresses key issues, such as the treatment of co-occurring anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in autism. It explores adaptations of core CBT components, including teaching the thought-emotion-behavior link, cognitive restructuring, and behavioral activation. The volume details strategies for enhancing social cognition, perspective-taking, and problem-solving skills.

Key areas of coverage include:

• Establishing targets for intervention and setting treatment goals.
• Building therapeutic alliance and engagement.
• Psychoeducation and emotional awareness in autism-adapted CBT.
• Enhancing cognitive flexibility.
• Exposure-based interventions.
• Parent-mediated interventions and school collaboration models.
• Outcome monitoring and relapse prevention.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Autistic Children and Adolescents is a must-have resource for clinicians, therapists, and other professionals as well as researchers, professors, and graduate students across such interrelated disciplines as clinical child, school, and developmental psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, social work, pediatrics, behavioral therapy/rehabilitation, and special education.

Hakan Öğütlü, M.D., is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at University College Dublin School of Medicine. He is an EABCT Approved Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and International Diplomate and Trainer Consultant of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (ACBT), actively contributing to its Training and Credentialing, Marketing and Media, and Ethics Committees. Dr. Öğütlü is also the Founder and Chair of the Eating Disorders Commission of the Turkish Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and previously established a specialized Autism Spectrum Disorder Service Unit within a state hospital setting. His academic and clinical work focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders, eating disorders, and evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents. He has authored and coauthored numerous peer-reviewed publications in international journals and delivers postgraduate CBT trainings across national and international platforms.