Little is known about the prevalence of substance use and abuse among individuals with intellectual disabilities. However, studies show that individuals with intellectual disabilities are at greater risk of developing substance abuse problems. Furthermore, traditional drug abuse treatment programs may be insufficient in order to tackle the individual needs of the users with intellectual disabilities. This study focuses on addiction counsellors, and aims to give insight into how they experience their work with individuals who are suffering from intellectual disabilities and substance abuse. In this study, qualitative interviews were conducted with five counsellors from two different municipal organizations. Subsequently, the analysis of the results has been categorized thematically, supported by Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats and Polanyi’s notion of tacit knowledge. The results suggest that the professionals are experiencing several challenges in their work with the target group. The lack of knowledge and insufficient national guidelines regarding the work with the target group, in combination with treatment methods that are not adapted to the needs and the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities, leave the professionals in a situation where their experiences and tacit knowledge is used to design and conduct the target group’s treatment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-52387 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Bohlin, Simon |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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