Arguments for a Phenomenologically Informed Clinical Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Maria Nilsson, Peter Handest, Lena Nylander, Lennart Pedersen, Jessica Carlsson, Sidse Arnfred
Psychopathology 2019 DOI: 10.1159/000500294 (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Autism spectrum disorder First-person experience Psychopathology |
| Key points | Argues that a phenomenologically informed clinical approach focusing on the form and structure of subjective experience, including self-experience in ASD, is needed because current conceptualizations neglect the first-person perspective. Contends that such an approach could yield new insights for clinically differentiating ASD from schizophrenia spectrum disorder. |
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to provide arguments for a phenomenologically informed clinical approach to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including a plea for clinical attention to the self in ASD. Central concepts of continental phenomenology, phenomenological psychopathology, and the phenomenological interview are presented, with an emphasis on the potential unifying qualities of an approach which includes the exploration of subjective and intersubjective experience. These phenomenological concepts and methods are contrasted with the current conceptualization of ASD, where the first-person perspective is not in focus. Contemporary phenomenological papers on ASD address key concepts like intersubjectivity, intercorporeality, and intentionality. However, insights from this theoretical field have not been followed up in clinical research and practice. Consequently, there is (to our knowledge) still a lack of phenomenologically informed clinical explorations of experience of self, others, and the world in ASD. A phenomenologically informed focus on the form and structure of subjective experience, including a focus on self-experience in ASD, can lead to new and important insights in relation to clinical differentiation between ASD and schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Transdiagnostic conceptualization of schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. An integrative framework of minimal self disturbance
- Reintroducing Consciousness in Psychopathology: Review of the Literature and Conceptual Framework. Frontiers in Psychology November 17, 2020
- Autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorder: phenomenological qualitative study of patients' experience. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2025
- Comparative profiles of anomalous self-experiences and social cognition in clinical high risk for psychosis and autism spectrum disorder. Schizophrenia Research: Cognition June 11, 2026
- Decreased Sound Tolerance in Autism: A Clinical-Phenomenological Study Psychopathology May 21, 2026
Cites 5
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- Schizophrenia, consciousness, and the self. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2003