Mental Health in Intellectual Disabilities

This new and revised edition provides up-to-date information on mental health problems in people with intellectual disabilities and associated issues.

In recent years there have been many changes in the field of mental health and to services for people with intellectual disabilities. The Mental Capacity Act (2005) came into full operation in 2007 and it is vital that everyone who supports people with intellectual disabilities has an understanding of it and how it affects their everyday practice. The Mental Health Act (1983) was revised in 2007 and in 2008 the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were introduced. There has also been emerging research of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for people with intellectual disabilities.

With this in mind, this fourth edition of the reader has been completely revised. Two chapters are dedicated to the new legal and policy frameworks that are now in place and include information on the Care Programme Approach (1990), the revised Mental Health Act (2007) and the Mental Capacity Act (2005). There are also chapters on specific mental health problems, which offer greater insight into how carers can recognise such problems, and how they are diagnosed and treated. Supporting people with personality disorders and those who misuse substances is an emerging issue for services and is also examined in this edition.

The contributors are from multidisciplinary backgrounds and include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, family therapists, nurses and trainers. They are all experts in delivering mental health services to people with intellectual disabilities and have an interest in staff training.

The chapters of this reader provide background knowledge for facilitators using Mental Health in Learning Disabilities: A training resource. This vital handbook can also be used independently to provide fundamental knowledge on mental health problems in people with intellectual disabilities.

Geraldine Holt is honorary senior lecturer at the Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. She is widely published on the mental health of people with learning disabilities and has served on a number of national and international bodies with this focus.