Life Skills Group: increasing foundation knowledge and motivation in offenders with a learning disability

Abstract

Purpose – Offenders with a learning disability present with greater clinical need than those without a learning disability. However, for this client group, access to and engagement with psychological and criminogenic interventions are often limited. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a potentially useful approach to this issue. Design/methodology/approach – A single case study design was used to evaluate an introductory group programme, delivered over 12 weekly sessions, in a forensic learning disability service. Semi-structured interviews were used alongside psychometric measures, which were completed prior to, and following completion of, the group, in order to assess the individual's experience of the group, their emotional understanding and difficulties, and readiness to change. Findings – Readiness to change and emotional understanding improved following completion of the programme. Self-reported emotional difficulties showed improvement, although not all staff reports corroborated this. Notably, the service user reported a positive experience, with increased confidence and motivation to attend further groups. Research limitations/implications – Generalisation from the results of single case studies is limited. Although results suggest that motivation to engage further has increased, more research is required to assess whether this impacts on actual ability to engage. Practical implications – Offering an introductory programme prior to further, more criminogenically focused intervention may be more effective than offering these interventions as the first stage of treatment. Originality/value – An introductory group programme may be potentially helpful in providing the foundation knowledge, confidence and motivation necessary to attend further intervention focusing on criminogenic need for offenders with a learning disability.