Alexithymia and autism

• Zoom
• 12th May '23 11.00 am – 1.00 pm

'Alexithymia' was coined for a lack of  the use of narrative about feelings.  This was in the 1970s and was the topic of Digby's own research at that time, before his clinical work with autistic people began, in 1975.  Unexpectedly autism and alexithymia have been reported to be associated in recent years.  Indeed in a recent article on a BBC News page, a correspondent attributed the lack of affective empathy sometimes attributed to autism to the alexithymia associated with autism, arguing that autistic people have greater than usual empathic ability if they are not impaired by alexithymia.  In this workshop Digby will look at the links between emotion and narrative, what alexithymia and autism tell us about these, and whether alexithymia and autism are linked. 

Digby is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist with interests in autism spectrum disorder, existential philosophy, and group psychotherapy. He is currently working on three book projects including a part-biography, part philosophical commentary on selected female existentialist philosophers.​