(Be)Leef in de wijk – RAAK Publiek

Recently, healthcare professionals and researchers in the Netherlands have set up initiatives aimed at developing care and support services in the community which are especially geared towards people with a mild intellectual disability and associated conditions. The aim of these initiatives is to reduce the number of people with mild intellectual disabilities who are referred or re-referred to in-patient care as much as possible, with the view of enabling these people to live in their own home, enjoying a good quality of life, for as long as possible.

It is striking that primarily verbal interventions are used within developing care teams, even though people with mild intellectual disabilities struggle to process information that is communicated verbally. Using non-verbal and more experiential methods ought to improve the working methods within these care teams. Thanks to its use of non-verbal and experiential methods, arts therapy provides an effective manner of dealing with the conditions associated with mild intellectual disabilities. A growing number of studies demonstrate that arts therapies are a very promising treatment for people with an intellectual disability or behavioural problems. However, arts therapists are unsure as to how to apply arts therapy in order to deliver this result.

This innovation programme addresses the questions which arts therapists ask themselves: how and in which form can outpatient care teams, such as FACT (Flexible Assertive Community Treatment) teams, work to ensure that people with mild intellectual disabilities can live independently in their own homes for as long as possible?

Arts therapists, healthcare professionals, and lecturers/researchers from a consortium consisting of Idris specialist treatment centre for children, adults, and elderly people with mild intellectual disabilities, STEVIG diagnostic and research centre, Koraal Groep, Trimbos Institute research centre, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, HAN University of Applied Sciences, and Stenden University of Applied Sciences will address this question. They will do this by investigating the effects of arts therapy on people with mild intellectual disabilities in or around care teams in the community. Through the use of qualitative and quantitative research, they will investigate this question in co-creation with social workers, students, and lecturer/researchers. The consortium aims to develop a treatment method which revolves around arts therapy and which can be implemented effectively and flexibly in the social environment of those living with a mild intellectual disability, so reducing the number referred or re-referred to in-patient care.

The project was made possible by the RAAK-Publiek grant, which stimulates the cooperation and knowledge exchange between universities and professionals from the public sector. This grant is allocated by the Nationaal Regieorgaan Praktijkgericht Onderzoek SIA, the Dutch national coordinating body which promotes and finances practically-oriented research in universities.

The contact person for this project is Manon Verdonschot.

Flyer project.

PUBLICATIONS

• Schiffers, V. (2015). Met verf in de wijk. Bachelor thesis.
• Kleij, R. ten (2016). Psychomotorische therapie outreachend naar de cliënt. Bachelor thesis.
• Vorstenbosch, M. (2016). Psychomotorische therapie, beweging in de wijk. Bachelor thesis.
• Mol, I. (2016). Dramatherapie in de keuken. Bachelor thesis.
• Schijndel, I. van (2016). Ik Ben! Bachelor thesis.
• Janssen, I. (2016). Met je gitaar de wijk in. Bachelor thesis.
• Bootsma, M., Verdonschot, M., Berghs, M., Witte, M. de, Hooren, S. van. (2017). Een overzicht van indicatiegebieden voor vaktherapie bij mensen met een licht verstandelijke beperking – Resultaten uit Fase 1 van het onderzoeksproject ‘(Be)Leef in de wijk’. Heerlen: Zuyd Hogeschool, Lectoraat Kennisontwikkeling Vaktherapieën (KenVaK).
• Witte, M.J. de., Bellemans, T., Tukker, K., Hooren, S. van. (2017). Vaktherapie. In: Bruijn, J. de, Vonk, J., Broek, A. van den & Twint, B. (2017). Handboek Emotionele ontwikkeling & verstandelijke beperking. Amsterdam: Boom.
• Verdonschot, Witte, M. de, Berghs, M., Bootsma M., Moonen, X. & Hooren, S. van (2016). (Be)Leef in de wijk – Ontwikkeling van een vaktherapeutische wijkgerichte verwijs- en behandelroute voor mensen met een lichte verstandelijke beperking. Tijdschrift voor vaktherapie, 4 (12), 15-19.
• Van Hooren, S., De Witte, M, Didden, R., & Moonen, X. (2016). Vaktherapieën. In R. Didden, W. Groen, X. Moonen, & P. Troost. Psychische problemen van kinderen en jongvolwassenen met een LVB. Utrecht: de Tijdstroom.