Exploring maintaining gains following therapy during the coronavirus pandemic with adults with an intellectual disability

Exploring maintaining gains following therapy during the coronavirus pandemic with adults with an intellectual disability Jack Purrington, Arthur Nye, Nigel Beail Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- The novel coronavirus and associated mitigation efforts have caused significant increases in stress for adults with intellectual disabilities. Such increases in life stress predict an increased risk of relapse following psychological therapy. This contributes to the high global disease burden of common mental health difficulties. Therefore, this paper aims to explore service user experiences of maintaining gains following therapy within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. A mixed-methods evaluation was completed in a psychology service based in the North of England which specialises in supporting adults with intellectual disabilities. Descriptive statistics and effect size calculations were used to examine therapeutic outcomes pre-therapy, post-therapy, and at follow-up. These findings informed a framework analysis of eight semi-structured interviews. Overall, outcome results improved post-therapy and regressed at follow-up. The framework analysis revealed facilitators to maintenance include a recollection of specific aspects of therapy and the regular utilisation of strategies and resources. Conversely, barriers to maintenance include a recollection focussed on personal outc...
Source: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities - Category: Disability Authors: Source Type: research