Mental health services for people with intellectual disability: Current developments

Abstract

Mental health services for people with intellectual disability have remained relatively underdeveloped in Australia and New Zealand. The reasons for this include the lack of a subspeciality of the psychiatry of disability, limited undergraduate and post graduate medical education on the topic, lack of practical experience with people with intellectual disability for psychiatric trainees, the use of institutional care and psychotropic medication to deal with disturbed behaviours, progressive demedicalisation of services as a result of transfer of responsibility from health to welfare agencies and a dearth of resources. Nevertheless, the problems with this group of people have remained a matter of increasing concern on a number of levels and have been highlighted by the continuing trend towards deinstitutionalisation. Considerable progress has been made in finding interdisciplinary solutions in the last decade. This report gives an update on the current status of planning and delivery of mental health services for people with intellectual disability who have psychiatric disorders, and outlines some of the initiatives adopted in the Australian States and New Zealand to fill the gap. A number of innovative approaches in the areas of policy and planning, legislative support, education, consultation and co-ordination between services and some new programmes have been developed.