Trauma
NES Learning Disabilities team will continue to review and update this page as required.
Some of the below links and resources will direct you to information sources that are external to NES. These have not been created by NES and have been included for your information only. The inclusion of these sources is not as a recommendation or an endorsement of the associated content.
This animation was created to highlight the specific issues for people with learning disabilities in relation to psychological trauma.
The framework has been produced by a collaboration of professionals and organisations in Northern Ireland to guide organisations providing residential or supported living accommodation to adults with a learning disability who may have been impacted by a trauma history.
Learning Disability-Relationships, Attachment, trauma and people with learning disabilities: how relationships support recovery.
People with learning disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing trauma, and may express distress as a consequence of trauma in a range of ways, including behaviours perceived by those around them as challenging. For staff working with people with LD, understanding how attachment and relationships support recovery from trauma, and being able to apply this to their everyday working context is vital to ensure good quality, trauma informed support. This webinar was originally delivered in 2022 by Dr Cathy Harding, a consultant clinical psychologist who has worked with people with learning disabilities for 15 years across community, inpatient and supported living services. This webinar is suitable for all staff.
This report by the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities highlights evidence of the wide-ranging abuse experienced by women with learning disabilities in Scotland. Recommendations are made to address the findings of inconsistent approaches to support, the use of restrictive legislative measures against women with learning disabilities when they report crimes of gender-based violence, and the lack of consistent data collection and monitoring on reports of gender-based violence.
This toolkit was developed through collaboration of a range of organisations to support people with a learning disability to identify and escape domestic abuse.
Safety and Stabilisation is part of a phase based treatment approach for people affected by experiences of prolonged and repeated trauma. The NES LD team offer training in Safety and Stabilisation adapted for learning disabilities settings, consisting of 2 day interactive workshops plus a 1 day follow up. This training is offered at the 'trauma enhanced' level of practice and is suited to qualified clinicians with access to clinical supervision and an active role in delivering psychological interventions for people with learning disabilities affected by trauma. Training may also be available in local health boards.
Further information and upcoming dates of NES training can be found in the flyer below.