“Everyone on the Same Team, All Working Together”: Implementing a Co-ordinated Multi-disciplinary Approach to Supporting Young People with Co-occurring Intellectual Disability and Mental Health Issues

R. Whitehead, Liza Hopkins, E. Hughes, M. Kehoe, G. Pedwell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the high prevalence of mental health issues for young people with intellectual disability (ID), young people with ID can struggle to receive the mental health support they need. The aim of this study was to examine a new community-based, clinical mental health service for young people (12 −25 years) with co-occurring ID and mental illness, and to explore the outcomes for young people and experiences of families who received service from the new program. Methods: Two studies were conducted using qualitative and quantitative research methods. First, using the Health of the Nations Outcome Scales (HoNOS), a quantitative longitudinal study was conducted to measure any changes in young people’s behavioral and social issues, mental health, and levels of impairment, from the being accepted to the service till the completion of care (n = 23). A second study involved qualitative interviews with parents/carers who attended the service (n = 10) that were analyzed to look for emerging themes in parents’/carers’ experience of the service. Results: Results of study 1 indicated that young people’s behavioral issues and social problems decreased from the time of admission to their completion of carer. Further, results of Study 2 revealed that parents/carers considered the mental health and behavior of their child had improved from being in the program. Parents also valued the person-centered, multidisciplinary, co-ordinated approach of the service, and viewed the new program as an improvement on previous services they had experienced. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary support for the efficacy of the new program and suggests future specialist dual disability services may look to a family-focused, multidisciplinary approach that includes assessment, treatment, and management as an effective treatment model.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-22
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dual disability
  • intellectual disability
  • mental health service
  • mental illness
  • young people

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