Working systemically with individuals with an intellectual disability to promote empowerment

Abstract

■This article shows how society can in lots of ways oppress individuals who have a diagnosis of a learning disability.■This is an important topic to think and talk about if we want to change the ways that people with a learning disability are treated and make sure they have more person-centred support.■The person is not the ‘problem’ and it is not their disability that takes away their power. Instead, it is the culture that we live in that does not value them enough and this needs to change.■Good practice recommendations include supporting families and teams with psychoeducation, and indirect work with teams to change the way we view people with a learning disability and the mental health problems they may have.Individuals with an Intellectual Disability (ID) have struggled to have their psychological needs met throughout history due to the deficit language used by society, which has reduced their power. This article highlights how this group has been stigmatised and the negative implications that this has for their psychological wellbeing using a systemic lens. It outlines good practice recommendations using systematic ways of working to provide individuals with an ID and those that support them a more person-centred form of care. These recommendations utilise a strengths-based approach that seeks to highlight stories of ability, resilience, and merit.