Some thoughts on psychotherapeutic work with learning-disabled children and their parents from orthodox religious communities

This chapter describes therapeutic work with patients from orthodox religious communities of several faiths—Muslim, Jewish, and Fundamentalist Christian—that had, as a common factor, that all the children had various degrees of learning disability. The constraints imposed on the therapist in terms of some of the issues that arose in therapy with this client group are explored, as well as the impact of the learning disabilities factor on family dynamics, including cultural attitudes towards handicap.