Browsing by Author "Vahtera, Laura"

Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by varying degrees of intellectual functioning limitations. Approximately one third of people with intellectual disabilities have problems regulating emotions and behavior management problems. In general, people with intellectual disabilities are offered psychodynamic individual therapy, psychodynamic group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling and systematic family therapy as an intervention. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the suitability and effectiveness of the mindfulness-based interventions for people with intellectual disabilities. As a point of interest was the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for decreasing aggression, depression and anxiety. This thesis also examined the effects of effectiveness in mindfulness-based interventions when staff members working with people with intellectual disabilities and parents of people with intellectual disabilities had mindfulness training and practice. Furthermore, the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for people with intellectual disabilities to have a greater self-determination and mindfulness-based intervetions as cost-effective interventions was discussed. The studies show sings of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for decreasing aggression, depression and anxiety with people with intellectual disabilities. Trainig staff led to benefits for people with intellectual disabilities, decreased use of physical restraint for aggressive behaviour and increased job satisfaction. Training parents led to reduced stress and improved parent–child interactions. Despite the long duration of mindfulness intervention and its cost mindfulness-based interventions are still cheaper for society. This is caused by the positive effects of mindfulness therapy, such as reduced acts of violence with people with intellectual disabilities and because of that costs of staff’s lost days of work and cost of medical and rehabilitation because of injury caused by people with intellectual disabilities were reduced. In addition to these positive effects offering mindfulness-based interventions to people with intellectual disabilities, mindfulness might be useful for people with intellectual disabilities to have a greater self-determination in everyday life. The use of restriction measures for calming people with intellectual disabilities is considered as a factor that weakens their delf-determination. As people with intellectual disabilities being able to calm themselves the use of restriction measures would be decreased.