Finding Humanity Eight Domains and Three Stories

Who are the people we describe as having learning or intellectual disability? Many clinical psychologists working in a mental health setting are now encountering people with learning disabilities, in some cases for the first time. This book provides the background information and understanding required to provide a basis for a truly inclusive and effective service for people with learning disability. In A Guide to Psychological Understanding of People with Learning Disabilities, Jenny Webb argues that we need a new, clinically-based definition of learning disability and an approach which integrates scientific rigour with humanistic concern for this group of people, who are so often vulnerable to misunderstanding and marginalisation. Psychological approaches need to be grounded in an understanding of historical, theoretical and ethical influences as well as a body of knowledge from other disciplines. The Eight Domains is a simple but holistic method for information gathering, while The Three Stories is an integrative model of formulation for use in relation for those people whose needs do not fit neatly into any one theory. Divided into three sections, the book explores: Understanding the context Understanding the person: eight domains Making sense: three stories. This book provides an invaluable guide for trainee clinical psychologists and their supervisors and tutors, working with adults with learning disability. It will also be valuable for clinical psychologists working in mainstream settings who may now be receiving referrals for people with learning disability and want to update their skills.

Acknowledgements. Abbreviations. Introduction. Part One: Understanding the Context. Chapter One: Defining the Construct of Learning Disability. Chapter Two: the Scientific and Ethical Context. Chapter Three: the Historical Context. Chapter Four: the Professional and Theoretical Context. Chapter Five: the Legal Context. Part Two: Understanding the Person: Eight Domains. Chapter Six: Starting to Understand the Person. Chapter Seven: the Behavioural Domain. Chapter Eight: the Social Domain. Chapter Nine: the Physical Domain. Chapter Ten: the Neurological Domain. Chapter Eleven: the Cognitive Domain. Chapter Twelve: the Attachment Domain. Chapter Thirteen: the Ecological Domain. Chapter Fourteen: the Inner World. Part Three: Making Sense: Three Stories. Chapter Fifteen: Formulating a coherent narrative. Chapter Sixteen: Conclusions . Appendices. Appendix One. Appendix Two. Appendix Three.

Jenny Webb has worked with learning disabled people for more than20 years. She is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and is on the British Psychological Society Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists. She can be contacted through the consultancy Agency and Access, which is for the support of people whose intellectual impairments may render them vulnerable. www.agencyandaccess.co.uk jenny.webb@agencyandaccess.co.uk