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There is little research addressing the delivery of training for health professionals who are interested in using cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) techniques as an adjunct to their current role. This paper describes the establishment and evaluation of a CBT training course to develop CBT skills in staff working with people with intellectual disabilities in Trust healthcare settings. The course would enable staff to learn how they could incorporate these skills into their daily practice to help them understand and work more effectively with people with intellectual disabilities.

A CBT training course was designed to teach staff the use of a number of basic and specific CBT techniques and principles that staff could use within their current roles. Specific issues in relation to people with intellectual disabilities were included, e.g. understanding cognitive deficits as well as cognitive distortions. The course ran for six sessions on a fortnightly basis, followed by a two-month follow-up session. Participants completed a pre- and post-assessment questionnaire and kept a reflective diary.

The training clearly focused on teaching skills that were feasible for staff to use in their own work settings. The evaluations, especially from the reflective diaries and the post-course questionnaires clearly demonstrated that this aim was achieved.

This was a pilot study as there has been no previously published evidence of using this approach within intellectual disabilities services. A further training course has been planned to continue evaluating the effectiveness of this approach.

This case report aims to describe the treatment of a woman (Rachel) in her twenties who was referred to the community team for people with an intellectual disability by her neurologist as she wanted help with reducing the frequency of psychogenic non‐epileptic seizures (PNES).

CBT was used as the therapeutic approach. The first stage of intervention focussed on reducing the frequency of PNES through relaxation and distraction techniques. Graded exposure was then used to enable Rachel to achieve her goal of going on the bus alone. The intervention process was completed over 12 sessions.

Outcome was measured using self‐report of seizure frequency. Rachel has successfully reduced the frequency of PNES from seven to two‐three per week, and has managed to successfully complete several bus journeys on her own, working through the hierarchy the authors had developed. The authors also completed pre and post therapy measures for anxiety and depression. Her scores on the Glasgow Anxiety Scale for Intellectual Disability reduced from 23 to 19 whilst she scored sub‐clinically on the Glasgow Depression Scale for Intellectual Disability.

This case report seeks to add to the evidence base of CBT as a viable treatment for PNES whilst also demonstrating that the approach can be adapted to meet the needs of clients with intellectual disabilities.