Expert Consensus Guidelines™

Treatment of Psychiatric and Behavioral Problems in Mental Retardation

A variety of psychiatric and behavioral problems can occur in association with mental retardation (MR), and these problems make it more difficult to provide care and services for this population. Unfortunately, there is limited guidance in the research literature on how best to manage these problems in individuals of different ages and with different severities of mental retardation. The Expert Consensus Guidelines™ on the Treatment of Psychiatric and Behavioral Problems in Mental Retardation are based on a survey of 48 experts on psychosocial treatment and 45 experts on psychopharmacology. The guidelines first provide guidance concerning the assessment and diagnosis of psychiatric and behavioral problems in individuals with MR as well as issues related to informed consent. Recommendations for psychosocial and medication treatment are then given, tailored to the level of MR, the severity of the symptoms, and the presence of a diagnosable DSM-IV disorder or other target symptoms that do not meet criteria for a specific DSM-IV disorder. For situations in which applied behavioral analysis is recommended, guidance is given concerning choice of specific techniques. Recommendations are also given for selecting medications within different drug classes to treat a variety of types of symptoms and for handling inadequate response to initial medication treatment.

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Contents, editors, and experts pages from the guidelines

Adobe Acrobat format (89 KB)

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