There’s no magic wand but there’s ability : the benefits of counselling for persons with intellectual disability

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to comprehend how persons with intellectual disability (ID) could avail themselves from counselling, through analysing the approaches to use when counselling people with ID, and the struggles faced by counsellors when offering therapy to the said cohort. I sought to achieve this by looking through the lens of the helping professionals and the individuals with ID. The dissertation’s aim suited the choice of Semi-structed interviews (SSI) and Thematic Analysis (TA). Six professionals and four persons with ID participated in the interviews. The professional-participants stated that when it comes to counselling people with ID, nothing is set in stone in relation to the approaches used. They argued that the ID and the presenting issue determine the approach. The most acclaimed approaches by the professionals were the person-centred approach and the play therapy (creative techniques). Distinctively, the professional participants gave prominence to trust and dignity, treating them as core values when counselling people with ID. They affirmed that counselling affects positively, and in different ways, individuals with ID. Personal limitations, that comprise lack of training, knowledge, resources, personnel and research, were regarded by the professional-participants as the main challenge when counselling the said cohort. Speaking about the persons with ID participants’, strikingly they declared that, when need be and according to their issue, they do seek help from professionals. These participants articulated their eagerness for having their basic need of being listened to and understood met. They also voiced out the importance of having counsellors who are able to listen to and understand them. Taking into consideration the findings and analysis, it is being suggested that further research could be pursued to counter the knowledge dearth related to counselling people with ID. Closely related to this, it is highly recommended that individuals with ID are directly involved in future research. This dissertation distinctly exposed that it is ideal to have a specialisation course within counselling. It also revealed the necessity for more training in the field of counselling persons with ID.