Waiting for psychological therapy during the covid-19 pandemic: experiences of adults with an intellectual disability

Waiting for psychological therapy during the covid-19 pandemic: experiences of adults with an intellectual disability Rebecca Baxter, Gregg H. Rawlings, Luke Yates, Nigel Beail Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- Measures introduced to mitigate the spread of coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) may have contributed to an increase in waiting times for face-to-face psychological treatments. As adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more likely to encounter barriers when accessing remote therapies, it is important they receive appropriate support while waiting. To understand what care is needed, this service evaluation [aimed to] explored the experiences of service users with ID who have waited for treatment during the pandemic.Seven individuals who had been waiting for psychological therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included those waiting longer than the national health service target of 18 weeks, were interviewed. Data were analysed using framework analysis.The following four key themes were identified: waiting has been “painful”, related to how service users continued to experience difficulties whilst they waited; tolerating the wait, highlighted that individuals understood the reasons for waiting; use of coping strategies where service users identified both internal and external strategies they had used to cope; and support and contact from the learning disability team, related to how individuals...
Source: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities - Category: Disability Authors: Source Type: research