Talking therapy for relative with multiple disabilities?

[Cyberworrier]

Hi- I tried posting this on SN but had no responses so hoping someone can help here on Chat.

My relative who has multiple physical disabilities and mild learning difficulties who is suffering from depression.

He lives in sheltered accommodation with support from carers and misses the company he had when he lived in a residential home (closed due to cuts). He isn't able to get out independently and there are never enough carers on the rota for any social time/outings.

I'd like to find someone to come and talk with him, specifically someone who understands mental health and with experience of disability.

He is in a wheelchair, blind and has slightly impaired speech. He has some mild learning difficulties too. I am concerned that someone with no experience of disability will not know how best to support him.

I have looked on the BACP website and Counselling Directory for his local area (near Glasgow) but can't see anyone who seems to have experience working with someone with either physical or learning difficulties. The person would have to go to him as he can't travel and he couldn't do online.

Has anyone had experience of this sort of thing or any ideas as to how we could find someone to help him?
Any ideas for charities, organisations or anything else would be appreciated!

Just bumping for you as no specific advice, but I would think specialist charities or organisations may be the place to look.

Honestly I think it would be much better looking at alternative residential homes, day centres or a befriending scheme than a therapist if the issue is loneliness. All the talking in he world will not do anything to change that and with a mild learning disability, it may open up some issues that are difficult for them to cope with or create a dependence on the individual they're seeing.

Hi OP, maybe try Enable Scotland? They have (or had) a helpline where you could ask about things like this. But as a previous poster suggested, I’d be looking at alternative care provision. Everyone is entitled to a social life and his caters should be making it happen for him.

Thank you both.

The problem is that specialist organisations tend to cater for specific things, eg RNIB for blindness, and he has multiple disabilities. Or there are places that do phone calls and he would struggle to speak clearly enough- and other centres people can visit and he is unable to.

Unfortunately cuts mean there is little to no choice about where he lives, all the local alternative settings have been closed in last few years and the alternatives offered are other flats with carers coming in. The idea was to put disabled people into the community but the reality is that people like him are now marooned and very isolated.

I suppose you are right about loneliness being the main issue so a volunteer befriending him could help a bit. He can't get to day centres as no one can take him there, there aren't enough carers. (There's another disabled person at the flat but who can't communicate, so they aren't company for each other sadly- and it means the carer is looking after both of them and can't take my relative out).

It's hard to describe but I do think he would get something from speaking to someone who understands mental health- he has learning difficulties but is very bright, can make jokes, worries about understandable things. I would describe it as him maybe coming across as much younger than his age, perhaps more the conversational level of a twelve year old than a forty year old. I do not want to sound ableist at all, just trying to describe my loved one when he is very unique and doesn't fit any one box easily!
He tends towards anxiety (understandably given how vulnerable he is) and I think some kind of CBT could get help him to talk about his worries and maybe reframe them.

Thanks Agent. Actually Enable are already involved in his care... not very successfully sadly.

I know, everyone should have the right to a social life. Sadly many of his most basic needs are a fight to be met at the moment, social care is an absolute disaster in this country.