Group work and people with learning disabilities: sharing ideas from clinical practice

There is a growing literature about the provision of psychological and psychotherapeutic work with people who have learning disabilities in a group context. However, there appears to be a gap between this relatively small literature and the amount of groups actually taking place. We are a small group of 'jobbing' clinical psychologists who have come together to discuss and further research our interest in group work with people with learning disabilities. One of us (RR) has run many groups for adults and children with learning disabilities over a number of years. The other two (NG and CH) started 'Feeling Better Together' groups eight years ago in clinical psychology services on the south coast of England. These continue to run, with the aim of sharing insights from cognitive behavioural therapy with people who have learning disabilities whilst making specific use of group dynamic processes. We have been enthused by our experiences of the therapeutic potential of group work and are interested in sharing these and discussing the issues more widely with others. At this workshop we plan to offer three perspectives:

-A brief overview of the literature on groups for people with learning disabilities
-A description of/outcome measures relating to the 'Feeling Better Together' group.
-Some reflections on group processes with this particular client group and the role of the facilitator

We hope to co-edit a forthcoming edition of 'Clinical Psychology and People with Learning Disabilities' on this topic, and would be interested in including issues discussed with attendees at the workshop, and inviting them to contribute more formally to this edition.