Mental health care for people with learning disabilities - Helena Priest

It is well documented that people with learning disabilities are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems than the general population. However, it is only in recent years that there has been a determined effort to address mental health assessment, diagnosis, services, education, and interventions for this client group. Unfortunately, carers are sometimes limited in their understanding of mental health needs and in the skills and resources required to assess these needs and deliver appropriate care. This book is intended to go some way towards meeting these deficits. The book aims to answer the following questions:
What is mental health?
What are mental health problems?
What causes them?
How do mental health problems affect the lives of people with learning disabilities and those around them?
How can mental health problems be identified in people with learning disabilities?
How can carers and services respond?
The book is directed towards all those people, including parents and other family members, nurses, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, other professional staff, students, care staff, and voluntary workers, who are involved in the care of people with learning disabilities. It does not profess to be a complete mental health manual; rather, it aims to introduce the reader to the key issues and concerns that surround mental health in people with learning disabilities such that they might have a positive impact on the care that those people receive.

Review of assessment tools brings together in one place all that are available within the UK, describing and providing details for obtaining them.

Case study approach relates the theory presented to everyday life and practice situations. It also encourages readers to make links and reflect upon their own experiences.

Interactive exercises guide the reader's thinking at a deeper level.

An 'Umbrella' approach draws together the main themes/concepts/current thinking in relation to Mental Health in Learning Disabilities in one easily readable text

Jargon free. Where technical language has been used, the language has been explained.

Multi-agency approach aimed at a wide professional readership.

Strong family/informal carer focus.

Identifies a range of specific learning disability conditions that help the reader to bridge the gap between mental health problems and learning disability.

Highlights a range of practical therapeutic interventions that may be utilised in the field.

Service delivery placed in context with some of the problems that service providers face when attempting to provide appropriate care.

Research has been used to underpin many of the topics discussed, promoting evidenced based care for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs.