Positive group psychotherapy modified for adults with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Mental health disorders are considerably more prevalent among people with intellectual disabilities than in the general population, yet research on psychotherapy for people with dual diagnosis is scarce. However, there is mounting evidence to show that adults with a dual diagnosis can find help through group therapy and have more productive and meaningful lives with improved relationships. This article focuses on a review of evidence for interactive behavioral therapy, a widely used model of group psychotherapy for these conditions, and reviews the modifications drawn from the field of positive psychology and positive psychotherapy being incorporated into the model. A sample of a modified positive intervention, the virtual gratitude visit, is explained and suggestions for future research are given.

Social Skills Group for Adults Living with Intellectual Disabilities

“…Research conducted on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions with individuals living with an intellectual disability are constantly increasing and is promising [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Recently, studies have begun to demonstrate the possibilities of using group behavioral cognitive therapy for this population [19].…”

Sex and genes, part 2: A biopsychosocial approach to assess and treat challenging sexual behavior in persons with intellectual disabilities including fragile X syndrome and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

“…Psychotherapeutic treatments for people with IDs who have a traumatic history and a diagnosis of PTSD have been under-researched (Mevissen, Didden, Korzilius, & de Jongh, 2016). However, IBT, a group treatment model based on both psychotherapy and psychodrama techniques, has evolved over the past 25 years and most importantly shown significant positive change for individuals with ID (Tomasulo, 2014). Tomasulo and Razza (2006) modified the original IBT model and tailored it specifically for individuals who have ID and co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses.…”

Character Strength Activation for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Using Video Feedback in Groups

“…The use of character strengths has been shown to improve well-being in the general population (Wood, Linley, Maltby, Kashdan, & Hurling, 2011), and there is emerging evidence that spotting and activating these strengths for people with ID/DD can have similar effects (Niemiec et al, 2017). What's more, the use of role-playing may be an underused tool to activate these strengths, especially with populations with no or low literacy (Tomasulo, 2014).…”

“…The ACTing Cure (Tomasulo & Szucs, 2015) is a hybrid group model based on Tomasulo's Interactive-Behavioral Therapy (IBT) model (Tomasulo, 2014). IBT is a widely used, evidence-based clinical group model specifically developed for people with ID/DD.…”

“…Both IBT and the ACTing cure are using a facilitation model where peer interactions are the focus, rather than a teaching model where information is largely exchanged between the facilitator and the members with little or no interaction between and among members. Both models are designed to activate the 14 therapeutic factors of group dynamics (Tomasulo, 2014), and the 24 individual character strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). The ACTing cure model also leans on theories and interventions of positive psychotherapy (Seligman, Rashid, & Parks, 2006;Rashid, 2015) and role theory (Moreno, 1987;Landy, 2012;Landy, 2009), while employing techniques of IBT, action methods, and tools of improvisational theater.…”