Individual psychotherapy with mentally retarded individuals: a review and call for research.
Therapy works for people with ID if you simplify language, stay active, and involve caregivers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hurley (1989) looked at every paper it could find on talk therapy for people with intellectual disability.
The author read case reports, small trials, and clinic notes.
No numbers were pooled; the goal was to see if therapy could help at all.
What they found
Therapy can work, but only if you change the way you do it.
Use short words, ask direct questions, invite caregivers, and talk about the disability itself.
Solid proof was missing; the field needed real data.
How this fits with other research
Aller et al. (2023) later ran a real trial and got big PTSD drops with plain-language Narrative Exposure Therapy.
That study answers D’s call for data and shows one clear way to adapt treatment.
Grace (1995) took a different path, pushing psychoanalytic ideas like “persisting developmental deficit.”
The two papers do not clash; B gives hard numbers while C offers a lens to understand feelings.
Dall et al. (1997) updated the research agenda again, listing new targets such as biology and community services.
Why it matters
You can start therapy with clients who have ID, but you must adapt.
Cut jargon, stay directive, and include staff.
Track data like Aller et al. (2023) so you add to the evidence instead of just adding more stories.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although most mental health professionals doubt the capacity of mentally retarded patients to benefit from psychotherapy, a review of case studies, writings, and research revealed that mentally retarded patients responded positively to treatment. Practitioners familiar with this population developed six major recommendations for adapting psychotherapeutic approaches to mentally retarded patients. In order for therapy to be successful, it is recommended that clinicians adapt standard technique to the patient's cognitive level, be directive in approach, be flexible during therapy, engage significant others in the therapeutic process, carefully manage transference and countertransference issues, and directly address the issue of mental retardation as a disability. The results of three research studies suggested that mentally retarded patients benefit from psychotherapy, although a fourth study showed negative results. There is a great need for systematic research to develop a knowledge base to support the growing applications of psychotherapeutic methods to this population.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1989 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(89)90015-2