The Development of a
Learning Disability
Awareness training
programme for IAPT
staff
East Lancashire LD Special
Interest Group
Greg Taylor (Clinical Psychologist)
& Vikki Harrison (Psychological Wellbeing
Practitioner)
Lancashire Care Foundation NHS
Trust
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The Development of a Learning
Disability Awareness training
programme for IAPT staff
Overview
1) Service context
2) IAPT LD Special Interest Group
3) Background to training
4) Training day overview
5) Outcomes from training
6) Future Directions
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Introduction & Background
Service Context
• 5 Distinct Primary Care IAPT services
– Differing demographics etc
• Largely economically deprived, high levels of unemployment but also
more affluent areas
• Urban, rural and semi-rural
• IAPT provision of step 2 (PWP) & Step 3 (counselling, Occupational
Therapy, HIT (CBT) workers, Clinical Psychology and MHP’s)
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Introduction & Background
LD Special Interest Group Context
• IAPT special interest group
• Remit to identify and address access and governance issues in relation to
LD population
• Collaboration between IAPT staff and Mental Health and Learning
Disability Liaison Team
• Quarterly meetings focusing on variety of issues around improving access
for clients and adjusting aspects of service and it’s offering to achieve this
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Introduction & Background
Training day development
• ‘Needs analysis’ survey of clinician confidence in working with LD clients –
adapted from D. Dagnan’s confidence scale (thanks Dave!)
• Suggested low levels of confidence and a perceived need for training
around LD clients and their needs and around how to use resources and
existing interventions
• Slightly higher confidence in ‘generic’ clinical confidence but low across
the board
• SIG agreement that results suggest need for awareness training
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The Training Day
Aim of the day
• To raise awareness of how to work therapeutically with adults with
learning disabilities who are experiencing mental health problems.
Learning Outcomes
• Increase understanding about learning disabilities
• Develop a range of communication skills
• Improve accessibility to Steps 2 & 3 services to people with learning
disabilities through using ‘Reasonable Adjustments’
• Consider how to adapt own practice i.e. assessment tools, therapeutic
interventions and resources in order to work with client with LD.
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The Training Day
Schedule
1.
What is a Learning Disability?
2.
Values and beliefs
3.
Guest speakers-LD service users experiences
4.
Communicative methods and means with IAPT clients
5.
Reasonable adjustments
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Training outcomes
Pre- and post- scores across 2 training days by IAPT role
(N 29)
•
•
Professional Role
Pre Mean
Total Score
Pre SD
Post Mean
Post SD
14
PWP
24.36
10.78
38.29
9.50
6
Counsellor
26.83
9.11
35.50
6.69
4
CBT Therapist
23.25
8.85
28.00
6.38
1
HIT Therapist
30.00
-
42.00
-
3
OT
31.50
2.12
48.00
1.41
2
MHP
41.50
19.10
47.50
9.19
Individual item means(1=low, 5=high): Pre (n=26) 2.88 – Post (n=35) – 3.715
Wilcoxon matched-pairs analysis (n=29) shows significant increase in post-training
confidence scores (p<0.001)
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Training outcomes
Other outcomes
• Increased awareness of LD SIG, role and membership
• ‘Top Tips’ leaflets – drawn from attendee contributions to reasonable
adjustment ‘workshop’ – versions for therapists and ELSPoA triage staff
• Confidence in training model to continue to provide 1-day training yearly
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Future Directions
Learning Disabilities Webpage
Designed for staff, those with learning disabilities and
families/carers. Primary aim of sharing resources from training
Also…
Continue to provide awareness training
(and to have this recognised as
mandatory)
Considering ‘modality specific’ training
Possible MSc research into clinician
attitudes towards working with
population
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Still perception that actual referrals into
IAPT are lower than expected – need to
investigate and create better links with
CLDT’s
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