Stress Reduction Treatments for Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic treatment based on the interrelation of cognitions, behaviours and affective responses. In CBT, the therapist and client collaborate to identify and modify unhelpful patterns of thoughts and behaviours which may maintain distress. CBT skills are practiced both in session and at home to consolidate gains. Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT) integrates the teachings of mindfulness meditation practices with the core principles of CBT to address distress across a broad range of emotional and behavioural problems. Mindfulness skills include developing heightened sensory awareness of the present moment, disengagement from a cycle of judgement and reactivity to experience, and use of deliberate sustained attention to sensory and cognitive processes. Both interventions above will be conducted in the form of group therapy sessions, held once a week over 8 weeks, with 2 additional weeks (before and immediately after the 8-week therapy program) to take baseline and post-test measures. Each session will be approximately 1.5 to 2 hours long, facilitated by Provisional Psychologists in the Master of Clinical Psychology, supervised by registered Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists. Participants will be encouraged to attend each session, and attendance will be monitored by therapy administrators through marking a roll each session. In both CBT and MiCBT, participants will be taught various techniques in session, and will be assigned home practice tasks based on the material discussed in session to complete in the following week. Participants are expected to complete approximately 30 minutes of home practice per week.