Biscuits and perseverance: reflections on supporting a community intellectual disability team to reflect

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to share information and reflections on the process of setting up case formulation meetings in a community intellectual disability team supporting adults with intellectual disabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The case formulation meeting was set up and pioneered by a clinical psychologist working in the team. This paper offers a description of the process of setting up the meetings and experiences of initial meetings.

Findings

Evaluations of the meetings were consistently positive, but attendance from the team members was dependent on ongoing marketing of the meetings by the team's psychologist. Feedback suggested that there may be direct benefits to the clinical work of the team and that the conversations allowed for improved management of risk. This suggests that time spent on facilitating such meetings can help to improve the quality of a service.

Originality/value

Other papers have helpfully shared experiences of setting up formulation meetings in other settings. To the author's knowledge, this is the first paper which shares the experience of setting up and running a case formulation meeting in an adult community intellectual disability team setting. The paper's focus on meetings which floundered, and focus on lessons learnt for the continuation of the meetings is also of practical value.

Citation

Wilcox, E. (2013), "Biscuits and perseverance: reflections on supporting a community intellectual disability team to reflect", Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 211-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-03-2013-0022