Naturalistic Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Background Despite repeated calls for research on the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy with people with intellectual disabilities there has been little progress in this area. This paper reports a naturalistic study of the effectiveness of individual psychodynamic psychotherapy provided in routine clinical practice. Method The study was an open trial design with a 3-month follow-up period. Widely available and used psychotherapy outcome measures were adopted, but administered in an assisted completion format at intake, outcome and follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Effect sizes were also computed. ResultsThe results show statistically significant reductions in recipients' levels of psychological distress and

The effectiveness of psychodynamic interventions for people with learning disabilities: a systematic review

“…In all, 13 studies were identified. The studies identified within this review offer some support for the use of psychodynamic therapy with adults with a learning disability experiencing a range of problems including anger, aggression, and behavioural problems (Alim, 2010;Beail, 1998;Beail et al, 2005Beail et al, , 2007Berry, 2003;McCormack, 1991;Summers and Witts, 2003), offending behaviour (Beail, 1998(Beail, , 2001, sexually inappropriate behaviour (Beail et al, , 2007, social withdrawal (Salvadori and Jackson, 2009), bereavement (Summers and Witts, 2003), and hypochondriasis (Kellett et al, 2009). There was also some very preliminary evidence from case studies (King, 2000;Lloyd, 2007) to suggest that CAT may be a useful therapeutic modality in this context, although further, more robust, research is required.…”

“…Beail (2001) and Beail et al (2005Beail et al ( , 2007 provide evidence to support the use of a psychodynamic approach with individuals with learning disabilities presenting with issues of offending behaviour, aggression, and other psychological issues. Positive outcomes (assessed using formal outcome measures) appeared to be maintained at short-term follow-up and longer-term (Beail, 2001), compared to those not receiving treatment (Beail, 2001).…”

PTSD and its treatment in people with intellectual disabilities

“…In psychodynamic psychotherapy the use of nonverbal media is quite common. Psychodynamic oriented therapists are generally concerned with patients' mental representation of themselves within the world and seek to identify the origin, meaning and resolution of difficult feelings and inappropriate behaviors, making links with early life experiences (Beail et al, 2005). The treatment procedure is not protocolized.…”

Efficiency of psychological interventions with persons with intellectual disability

“…Terapija može da traje nekoliko godina sa ciljem oslobađanja od simptoma i postizanja promena u ličnosti i koristi se u tretmanu nerešenih konflikata iz perioda ranog života (Neukrug, 2010). Studija koju su sproveli Bejl i sar, (Beail et al, 2005) ukazuje na rezultate ishoda psihoanalitičke psihoterapije koja se sprovodila na klinici, jednom nedeljno. Učesnici su bili muškarci sa IO koji su imali probleme ponašanja.…”