Intellectual disability and mental health: is psychology prepared?
| Date | 28 October 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-04-2014-0010 |
| Published date | 28 October 2014 |
| Pages | 381-389 |
| Author | Nancy J. Razza,Laura Schwartz Dayan,Daniel Tomasulo,Michelle S. Ballan |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Accounting education |
Intellectual disability and mental health:
is psychology prepared?
Nancy J. Razza, Laura Schwartz Dayan, Daniel Tomasulo and Michelle S. Ballan
Dr Nancy J. Razza is a
Psychologist, based at the
Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on
Developmental Disabilities,
Rutgers-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School, New
Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Laura Schwartz Dayan is
based at Disability Services,
Columbia University,New York,
New York, USA.
Dr Daniel Tomasulo is an
Assistant Instructor, based at
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
USA.
Michelle S. Ballan is an
Assistant Professor, based at
Columbia University,New York,
New York, USA.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold: to document the relationship between intellectual
disability (ID) and psychopathology; to raise awareness of the ongoing lag in professional training for
psychologists in the area of mental health treatment for people with intellectual disabilities; and, to provide
recommendations for advancing professional education and, ultimately, adequate mental health treatment
availability for people with intellectual disabilities.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature on prevalence of mental health
problems in people with intellectual disabilities. At the same time, the paper reviews the training of
psychologists relative to the burgeoning growth in awareness of the mental health needs of people with
intellectual disabilities.
Findings – The paper concludes that ID is a significant risk factor for psychopathology. In addition, the
paper concludes that the education of psychologists regarding the mental health needs of people with
intellectual disabilities is insufficient. The authors document the need for incorporating research and
treatment advances related to intellectual disabilities and mental health into to the professional training of
psychologists. The paper also describe the potential this training holds for improving both the lives of people
with intellectual disabilities and the overall competence of psychologists.
Practical implications – This paper provides a literature-based rationale for the need to include education
in the mental health needs of people with intellectual disabilities into the general training of mental health
professionals. In addition, it provides specific recommendations for how such training can be incorporated
into graduate psychology programs.
Originality/value – This paper provides mental health professionals with a review of the growth in
understanding of the enormous, unmet mental health needs of people intellectual disabilities, and of the
critical role of ID in development of mental health problems. Moreover, this paper builds the case for an
important revision in the training of psychologists to include competence in understanding and treating
mental health problems across the full spectrum of intellectual functioning.
Keywords Mental health, Dual diagnosis, Intellectual disabilities, Psychotherapy, Professional training,
Psychology education
Paper type Viewpoint
For over a century, the profession of psychology has been deeply involved in the field of
intellectual disability (ID) (Routh, 2005). Historically, psychologists, in comparison with other
mental health professionals, have had greater involvement in the assessment and treatment of
people with ID (Costello et al., 2007). Psychologists have a long tradition of applying behavioral
principles to improve the lives of individuals with ID (Benson and Havercamp, 2007; Carr et al.,
1999; Charlot and Beasley, 2013) and a similarly long history regarding intellectual assessment
for purposes of classification and educational planning (McVilly and Rawlinson, 1998). Many
psychologists train in applied behavioral analysis and utilize this expertise in settings that serve
people with ID (Costello et al., 2007; Sturmey, 2012).
At the same time, psychology’srole relative to people with ID suggests an absence with respect
to understanding the presentation of psychopathology (i.e. mental health problems) in affected
The authors acknowledge the
support of the Elizabeth
M. Boggs Center on
Developmental Disabilities.
Nancy J. Razza, The Elizabeth M.
Boggs Center on Developmental
Disabilities, Rutgers-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School; Laura
Schwartz Dayan, received her
MSW from Columbia University
School of Social Work and was an
Interdisciplinary Trainee at The
Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on
Developmental Disabilities, she
now works in Disability Services at
Columbia University; Daniel J.
Tomasulo, University of
Pennsylvania; Michelle S. Ballan,
School of Social Work, Columbia
University.
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-04-2014-0010 VOL. 8 NO. 6 2014, pp. 381-389, CEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282
j
ADVANCES IN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
j
PAGE 381
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