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Expert opinions on community services for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems
- Authors:
- HEMMINGS Colin, AL-SHEIKH Alaa
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(3), 2013, pp.169-174.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
A total of 14 multidisciplinary professionals from specialist intellectual disabilities services in the UK were interviewed about their opinions on four key areas of community service provision. These included the review and monitoring of service users, their access to social, leisure and occupational activities, the support, advice and training around mental health for a person's family or carers and “out of hours” and crisis responses. The interview data was used for coding using the NVivo 7 software package and then analyzed using thematic analysis. Analysis of participants' views on these key essential service components produced wider themes of importance. The ten major emergent themes for services were: their configuration/structure, their clarity of purpose/care pathways, their joint working, their training, their flexibility, their resources, their evidence-base, being holistic/multidisciplinary, being needs-led/personalised and providing accessible information. Selective quotations are included in the article to illustrate the main themes. These views of experts can help inform further research for the development and the evaluation of services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mental health crisis information for people with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- HEMMINGS Colin, OBOUSY Shaymaa, CRAIG Tom
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(3), 2013, pp.135-142.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This study explores whether mental health crisis information could be modified to be made accessible and meaningful for people with intellectual disabilities. Personalized information to help in a mental health crisis was recorded on folded A4 sized sheets that could be carried in a conveniently sized wallet. Service users were recruited from the psychiatry of learning disabilities outpatient clinics in Croydon, UK. A total of 20 service user participants who had mild intellectual disabilities as well as mental health problems agreed to participate. Three quarters of the participants carried their crisis information wallets on a daily basis for six months before evaluation. They and their carers expressed positive feedback about them carrying the crisis information. No one carrying the information actually experienced a mental health crisis in the six months follow up period so their usefulness in such crises could not be evaluated. However, they were unexpectedly used in other non-mental health settings and reported to have been helpful. Although the sample size was small the findings suggested that the carrying of crisis information might be a helpful measure for some people with intellectual disabilities. A further, larger scale trial is warranted. (Edited publisher abstract)
Using explanatory models in the care of a person with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- INWANG Francis, HEMMINGS Colin, HVID Cindy
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 7(3), 2013, pp.152-160.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
A case study exploring the differences between carer and professional perspectives in the assessment and treatment of a young man with intellectual disabilities, autism and mental health problems. The opinions and perspectives of psychiatrists involved in the care and treatment of “S” and “S”'s mother about the aetiology, course, treatment and prognosis of “S”'s condition, are explored using “explanatory models”. The similarities and the differences of opinions and perspectives about the mental health care of a person with intellectual disabilities are highlighted. It shows how the explicit comparison of notions about a person's condition, assessment and treatment may help all involved to work together for the common ground of achieving the best outcomes for service users. (Edited publisher abstract)