Editorial

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Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities

ISSN: 2044-1282

Article publication date: 2 March 2012

364

Citation

O'Hara, J. and Hardy, S. (2012), "Editorial", Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. 6 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/amhid.2012.54206baa.001

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Volume 6, Issue 2

This edition includes papers covering a number of themes from interventions in people with intellectual disabilities presenting in crisis, the challenges of using specific physical interventions such as restraint to the management of complex presentations. In addition we have two papers focusing on service developments from screening in Down syndrome to the impact of Payment by Results on mental health services for people with intellectual disabilities in England.

The first paper is by Varghese, Gormez, Andrews, Griffiths and Stephenson describes a study that examined how psychiatrists perceive the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, the training they had received and any concerns that they had. They found that the majority of respondents had received training but a common concern was a possible increase in the bureaucratic process and how it interfaced with existing legislation.

The next paper by Menon, Baburaj and Bernard is a review on the use of restraint in managing challenging behaviours in children with intellectual disabilities. There is low evidence base in this area and further studies are required to explore the therapeutic and ethical issues on using physical interventions such as seclusion or mechanical restraint in this group of young people.

The third paper is also on interventions by Anne Hurley from the USA and describes a case report on the effective use of cognitive behavioural psychotherapy with a woman with intellectual disabilities and erotomania. Pharmacotherapy had been ineffective in the treatment of the erotomania. The other case report is of a woman with intellectual disabilities presenting with psychosis in the context of polycystic ovary syndrome. This case illustrates the importance of the link between physical and mental health in the prescribing of the most effective pharmacological intervention.

The paper by Roy and Bhaumik develops the debate on commissioning personalised healthcare which will be a significant influence on health services in England for the coming years. Payment by Results is a transparent-based system to pay providers of healthcare based on needs and care required by the individual rather than the current arrangement in which commissioner purchase healthcare on behalf of populations from defined geographical areas.

The final paper describes the process of setting up a database to screen for dementia in adults with Down syndrome by partnership working across older adult mental health services and intellectual disabilities services. This type of development over the long-term will inform the evidence base on the value of screening for dementia in people with Down syndrome.

We are very pleased to have two papers in this edition from outside the UK and welcome submissions from authors across the international network of practitioners working with people with intellectual disabilities and mental health needs.

Jean O’Hara, Steve Hardy

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