Supporting the mental health and well-being of young people with learning difficulties

Background: Children and young people's (CYP's) mental health and well-being is an important issue within United Kingdom educational policy and practice. Research involving CYP with special educational needs, such as learning difficulties, is limited, even though they experience mental health difficulties more often than the general population. Schools and educational settings are ideally situated to identify and support CYP's mental health. This thesis explores how practitioners can promote the mental health and well-being for young people with learning difficulties. Method: The first paper (Paper 1) describes a systematic literature review (SLR) into the views and experiences of people with learning difficulties who received therapeutic intervention. Due to the dearth of research with CYP in this area, the study incorporates participants across a wider range, whilst ensuring that the views of some adolescents and young adults aged 11-25 were represented. Paper 1 identified 12 studies examining the views of people with learning difficulties and used the critical appraisal skills programme (2018) to quality screen studies, and a thematic analysis to aggregate the findings. The empirical study (Paper 2) explored how four practitioners from a specialist sixth form setting in the North West of England supported the mental health and well-being of students aged 16-19. This consisted of virtual semi-structured interviews, which were thematically analysed, and a follow-up focus group gathered more tangible strategies and provision to improve the practitioner utility of the findings. Results: Analysis of the studies in Paper 1 yielded insight into strategies around the contracting of therapeutic work, importance of clear communication, the therapeutic alliance, and the ending of therapy to promote accessibility and participation in therapy. Findings from Paper 2 illuminated tangible practice and strategies that are implemented by practitioners to promote mental health and well-being at both the universal and targeted levels. The study also identified facilitators and barriers to implementing such support, which included difficulties monitoring the effectiveness of interventions, access to skills-based training for staff, and difficulties for those with more complex needs and how they communicate their feelings. Implications for practice: This thesis outlines good practice that can promote students' mental health and well-being, with a population where there is a limited research available. Papers 1 and 2 offer suggestions to practice that can promote universal and/or targeted avenues of support. Further research is needed to explore the implications for practice for younger pupils. Paper 3 defines a dissemination and impact strategy for the research undertaken in Papers 1 and 2.