ABSTRACT
Mansdorf and Ben-David (1986) describe a bereaved parent who is depressed and receives a standard cognitive therapy. Her son, who has a learning disability and had begun to show aggressive behaviour that was hypothesised to be a sign of a bereavement-related depression, received a behavioural programme with a self-instructional component. The authors stated that the self-instructional component served to create a situation where aggressive outbursts could be reduced so that his mother could find positive behaviour to reinforce. The authors do not report having considered using a cognitive approach with the son similar to that used for his mother. There is no report of assessment or other clinical decision-making processes. In this chapter we consider how a clinician might assess the suitability of a person with learning disability for cognitivebehaviour therapy and we conclude with a case example of cognitive therapy.
