– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of psychologists in considering the barriers to people with intellectual disabilities being able to access mainstream mental health services.
– The information relating to participant experiences was gathered by conducting two focus groups: one with psychologists working in the adult mental health service and the second with psychologists working in the learning disability service. A thematic analysis was used to determine the main themes from each of the focus groups.
– The overarching themes for the psychologists in the adult mental health service related to: service restrictions; confidence in their ability/skills; and resistance to change. The overarching themes for the psychologists in the learning disability service reflected: future thinking; protection; pessimism; and clarification around mental health and learning disability.
– The discussion includes consideration of the dynamic positions of the two services and recommendations for an integrated system of working.
