Guidance for staff providing mental health services to persons with intellectual disabilities
The MHC has launched guidance aimed at strengthening the quality, safety and accessibility of mental health services for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. The guidance places a strong emphasis on building staff and service capacity, improving outcomes, and supporting services to move beyond minimum legal requirements towards a culture of excellence in care.
The purpose of this guidance is to support staff in delivering care and treatment to individuals with co-occurring mental ill-health and intellectual disabilities across all mental health service settings for adults and children, including inpatient units, community residences and community-based services. It promotes a person-centred approach that upholds and protects human rights, ensuring that care is inclusive, responsive and respectful of individual needs. In doing so, the guidance supports services to continually build their capability, enhance professional confidence, and embed practices that lead to better outcomes for individuals and families.
An Easy-to-Read version of the guidance is also available: Guidance for staff giving mental health services to people with intellectual disabilities.
Evidence Review: Evidence to inform the revision of guidance for staff providing mental health services to persons with intellectual disabilities.
eLearning: Online training course on the guidance available to all staff working in mental health services HSeLanD | The Irish Health Service’s portal for online learning.
Date of publication: 13/05/2026
