£5m Frontier Engineering grant to safeguard world’s water

A team at the University of Glasgow and collaborators at Bangor University and the University of Lancaster have received £1,207,488 funding from National Institute for Health Research to test the effectiveness of a new treatment for depression for people with a learning disability. Even though depression is the most common type of mental health problem experienced by adults there is a lack of evidence about psychological treatments for people with learning disability. Significant health inequalities are faced by people with learning disability, and so the funding is especially welcome. The research trial is of a recently adapted version of a psychological approach called Behavioural Activation, named BEAT-IT. Behavioural Activation relies less on people having good communication skills than other commonly used psychological treatments, which means that more people with learning disability may be able to benefit. The aim of Behavioural Activation is to get people with depression involved in positive activities and to engage in everyday tasks they may have been avoiding. Therapists will work alongside the depressed individual and a key support person in their lives.