Evaluating the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for family carers of adults with intellectual disabilities

Introduction: It has been reported that family carers of adults diagnosed with intellectual disabilities experience significantly higher levels of psychological health difficulties than the United Kingdom general population. Acceptance and commitment therapy has been documented to be an effective intervention for a range of carer populations. A systematic literature review revealed that no studies have examined the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for family carers of adults with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Sixteen family carers of adults with intellectual disabilities were recruited and attended a six hour workshop based on acceptance and commitment therapy. Family carers completed six self-reported outcome measures relating to their mental health, quality of life, experience of caregiving, psychological flexibility and problematic and values-based behaviours. Outcome measures were collected at three time points: baseline, three weeks post-intervention and three months follow-up. Statistical analyses were conducted on outcome measures at group- and individual-levels. Aims: This study investigated the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy workshop for family carers of adults with intellectual disabilities. Results: Group-level analyses revealed that there were no significant differences between depression, stress, anxiety, quality of life, positive aspects of caregiving, mindful awareness, cognitive fusion and psychological flexibility scores across three time points. Individual-level analyses revealed that the majority of family carers’ scores on outcome measures remained stable across time. Discussion: The results revealed that overall there were limited improvements on outcome measures at group- and individual-levels. There were a number of potential explanations for these non-significant findings including the small sample size and insufficient statistical power. The strengths and limitations of this study were discussed, as well as the implications and research recommendations. Overall, the results indicated that acceptance and commitment therapy could be considered as an intervention for this carer population, however further research is required.