Background: This study examines the extent to which a random sample of adults with intellectual disabilities possess the component skills necessary to undergo cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Method: Seventy-two individuals underwent a range of assessments, including measures of language ability, ability to identify and to label emotions,…

Aims: This case study describes the formulation and cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) of obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviours in a woman with an intellectual disability. The report aimed to distinguish the cognitive deficits that reflect her disability from the cognitive distortions integral to her obsessive-compulsive disorder. Case…

Background: Cognitive skills thought to be necessary to undertake cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) include the ability to recognize emotions, link events and emotions, and recognize cognitive mediation. These skills have been assessed in people with intellectual disabilities, but not in those who also have psychosis. Materials and methods:…

Background: It is striking that although cognitive behavioural therapy was developed to treat depression in the general population, there remains a paucity of research concerning its application to people with intellectual disabilities. Recent research points to the importance of understanding people's distress in the context of their particular…

Background: There is frequently great concern about the dangerousness of deinstitutionalized men with intellectual disabilities who have been institutionalized because they are considered to be at high risk for the commission of serious antisocial acts or sexual offending. Unfortunately, there is little information on whether changes in the…

Background: There is a need to develop and adapt therapies for use with people with learning disabilities who have mental health problems. Aims: To examine the performance of people with learning disabilities on two cognitive therapy tasks (emotion recognition and discrimination among thoughts, feelings and behaviours). We hypothesized that…

Background: This report describes a cognitive behavioural group intervention for women with mild and borderline intellectual disabilities detained in a secure hospital setting because of their fire-setting behaviour. The study aimed to examine participants' motivations for setting fires, their responses to an intervention designed specifically for…

Aims: Cognitive therapies are increasingly being offered by clinical psychologists to people with intellectual disabilities. This paper reviews some of the factors that influence people's readiness to engage in cognitive therapy. Literature review: Limited verbal ability, psychological-mindedness (particularly in relation to the understanding of…