Setting up and running a loss and bereavement support group for adults with learning disabilities

Accessible summary The tree of life group is based on ideas from narrative therapy. Narrative therapy is about using stories about ourselves to understand how we make sense of our lives. We ran a tree of life group for women with learning disabilities. In the group, people drew trees to show different things that were important in their lives. People liked hearing about each others' lives and hearing what other people liked about their trees. Abstract Background: This study describes how a specific narrative therapy approach called ‘the tree of life’ was adapted to run a group for women with learning disabilities. The group consisted of four participants and ran for five consecutive weeks. Materials and Methods: Participants each constructed a tree to represent their lives and presented their tree to the group who responded with positive feedback and affirming statements. This led to discussion about overcoming the storms of life and a celebration of the journey the group had been through together. Key Results: Although no change was found on quantitative measures of well‐being and self‐esteem, participants reported benefitting from the peer support and social connectedness that the group offered, particularly in relation to themes of loss and change in their lives. Conclusions: ‘The tree of life’ approach has potential value as an intervention for people with learning disabilities. The benefits and challenges of this approach within the context of working with people with learning disabilities are discussed.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adapting and evaluating a tree of life group for women with learning disabilities

Randle-Phillips

Farquhar

Thomas

2016

“…Overall, we believe that our group, adapted from Boyden et al . ()'s format and session plans, was a helpful way for our participants to explore, understand and cope with their bereavements. We received positive qualitative feedback from all participants, and it was clear from this that they had a greater knowledge of bereavement, its impact and how they might manage this impact more successfully.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Table presents sessions plans for the 8 weeks of the group, to allow for comparison between our group and that of Boyden et al . ().…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Campbell & Bell 2010;Summers & Witts 2003) and group (e.g. Boyden et al 2009;Mappin & Hanlon 2005) approaches have been adopted and generally receive positive feedback from individuals who have attended. Typically, interventions include both psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic approaches and have the dual aim of ensuring participants are informed of, and understand, basic concepts of death and have space to explore their own experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Planning, facilitating and evaluating a bereavement group for adults with learning disabilities living in the community

Borsay

Halsey²,

Critoph³

2012

Accessible Summary Adults with learning disabilities sometimes find it hard to cope when someone they care about dies. This report talks about an 8‐week group that was run to help four adults with learning disabilities cope with their bereavements. We asked group members to fill in questionnaires and talked to them about what they liked and did not like about the group. Everyone found it helpful to share their experiences and learn new ways of coping with their bereavements. Summary This study evaluates the usefulness of a bereavement group for four adults with learning disabilities. Drawing on the work of Boyden et al. (2009), the current authors planned and facilitated an 8‐week group, held in the local community. Qualitative and quantitative feedback was collected from participants, which indicated that they valued the group as a safe and useful space to talk about their bereavements and to learn skills to manage difficult emotions. This study reports and reflects on the process of establishing the group, developing the session plans, delivering the intervention and collecting feedback.

“…Participants’ appreciation of these sociable aspects highlights a unique benefit of group‐based approaches which mirrors the findings reported in the literature (Boyden et al . ; McMahon et al . ; Peckham et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I didn't know other people existed who hear voices…’ – qualitative perceptions of a hearing voices group for people with learning disabilities

Tomlins

Cawley

2015

Accessible summary• We ran a new group for people with learning disabilities who heard voices.• We interviewed people who came to the group to see whether they liked the group. We also interviewed people who decided not to come to the group, to find out why.• We also asked family members and professionals what they thought about the group.• People thought the group would help them cope with their voices. • People who came enjoyed meeting other people who heard voices. • We found that some things stopped people coming to the group. We want to change these things for the next group so that more people will be able to come. SummaryGroup work for people who experience voice hearing in the mainstream population has been shown to have various benefits; however, there is little research describing hearing voices groups for people with learning disabilities. This study describes perceptions of a new hearing voices group for people with mild learning disabilities. Semi-structured interviews with twelve participants were conducted. This included three clients who attended the hearing voices group, three of their family members/ carers and one professional. In addition, of those who were referred to the group but chose not to attend, one client, two family members/carers and two professionals were interviewed. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was used to identify three overarching themes; the first 'benefits of our hearing voices group' described participants' evaluations and perceptions of the hearing voices group. The second 'making the decision to attend' covers factors that influence clients when deciding whether or not to attend a hearing voices group. In the final theme 'positive and negative contributors to the voice-hearing experience', participants reflected on factors that affect the voice-hearing experience. The hearing ª The Official Journal of the British Institute of Learning Disabilities voices group was valued by participants; however, services should consider the barriers to attendance faced by some clients. Strategies for addressing these are discussed.