Mindfulness is increasingly being recognised as an effective therapeutic intervention for people with a range of health problems and has been adopted in various clinical fields, such as chronic pain management and diabetes care. There is also emerging evidence of its implementation and efficacy in psychological and mental health interventions but, until recently, people with learning disabilities have been overlooked or excluded from psychological therapies. Many authors have worked hard to reverse this exclusion however, acknowledging that people with learning disabilities experience emotional distress and should have the same, if not more, support and interventions as people without such disabilities.
This article explores mindfulness-based interventions for people with learning disabilities, and describes the development of an online resource that aims to support this population and their carers. The article examines potential barriers to accessing psychological therapies for people with learning disabilities, and the role of nurses in supporting the engagement of people with learning disabilities who wish to adopt a mindfulness approach.
Learning Disability Practice. 22, 5, 29-33. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2019.e1992
Correspondencenicky.genders@southwales.ac.uk
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software
Conflict of interestThe authors acknowledge receiving funding from NHS England. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not NHS England
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