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Objective: This study tested the feasibility of a self-help intervention based on Compassion-Focused Theory (CFT), and estimated treatment effects in a population of adults with skin conditions and associated psychological distress. Design: A randomized-controlled design was used, with 176 participants being allocated to either CFT-based self-help or a waitlist control group, who received usual medical care. The two-week intervention was provided by email. Main Outcome Measures: Treatment adherence and attrition rates were calculated, and effectiveness was estimated using measures of perceived stress, anxiety, depression, dermatology-specific quality of life and self-compassion. Results: Eighty-seven participants completed the post-intervention questionnaires (51%), and practiced on a median of 9/14 days. Study completers demonstrated significant, moderate improvements on measures of stress, anxiety, depression, self-compassion and dermatologyspecific quality of life, relative to controls. In intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses, these findings remained significant, however effect sizes reduced from moderate to small. Conclusions: The findings indicate that CFT self-help shows promise in the treatment of psychological distress associated with skin conditions, however further testing of the intervention is not feasible without significant methodological changes, including the method of treatment delivery. Future studies should also include a follow-up period, as the duration of treatment effects could not be shown.

Objective The Scale of Emotional Development—Short (SED‐S) is an instrument to assess the level of emotional development (ED) in people with intellectual and developmental disability. Index cases are developed as a didactic tool to standardize the application of the scale. Method In a stepwise process, a European working group from six countries developed five index cases, one for each level of ED. All cases were first scored by 20 raters using the SED‐S and then rephrased to reduce inter‐rater variations (SD > 0.5). Results All five index cases yielded overall ratings that matched the intended level of ED. Across the range of ED, Regulating Affect needed rephrasing most to ensure a distinct description within each level of ED. Conclusions The tri‐lingual, cross‐cultural evolution of five index cases contributes to a standardized application of the SED‐S and can serve as training material to improve the inter‐rater reliability of the SED‐S across different cultures and languages.

Using a developmental perspective, the authors offer a new, integrated model for supporting people with intellectual disability (ID). This concept builds upon recent advances in attachment-informed approaches, by drawing upon a broader understanding of the social, emotional, and cognitive competencies of people with ID, which is grounded in developmental neuroscience and psychology. The book explores in detail how challenging behaviour and mental health difficulties in people with ID arise when their basic emotional needs are not being met by those in the environment. Using individually tailored interventions, which complement existing models of care, practitioners can help to facilitate maturational processes and reduce behavior that is challenging to others. As a result, the ‘fit’ of a person within his or her individual environment can be improved. Case examples throughout the book illuminate how this approach works by targeting interventions towards the person’s stage of emotional development. This book will be of interest to a wide range of professionals working with people with ID, including: clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, learning disability nurses, speech and language therapists, and teachers in special education settings, as well as parents and caregivers.

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