Spinning Plates

Carers talk about the satisfaction and joy they take in their caring relationships, but they also experience practical difficulties which can affect their mental health and wellbeing.

Even before the pandemic, carers of adults with learning disabilities made up a quarter of the 9 million carers in the UK (DoHSC, 2018) but we know little about their mental health and wellbeing, their access to services and support, and what they think good support looks like at different times in their lives.

Our project aims to better understand the mental health and wellbeing of carers of adults with learning disabilities and the support they need. We will use the project findings to develop information and teaching and learning resources for health and care staff to better understand and support carers’ mental health.

Further information is available on the project website.

Resources for people and professionals

Resource published on socialcaretalk featuring the digital stories of people with learning disabilities and family carers.

Resource for GPs. Doing Better in Healthcare and Doing Better in Social Care.

Academic papers

Runswick-Cole, K., Smith, M. and Grosset, C., 2025. “Well, I am now looking after this bloody rabbit!” Restorying care in the lives of people with learning disabilities. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research.

Ribenfors, F., Smith, M., Runswick-Cole, K. and Ryan, S., 2025. Kin dness and curious kinships in the lives of family carers of adults with learning disabilities. International Journal of Care and Caring, pp.1-18.

Smith, M., Runswick-Cole, K., Croot, E., Ryan, S., Hatton, C., Cisneros, R., Kassa, C. and Douglas, P., 2025. Tired of spinning plates: a rapid scoping review of the mental health needs and mental health support of carers of adults with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Disability and Social Justice.

Runswick-Cole, K., Smith, M., Ryan, S. and Hatton, C., 2024. ‘Should we even have questions?’From survey to exhibition–co-producing research about ‘mental health’with carers and adults with learning disabilities. International Journal of Care and Caring, 1(aop), pp.1-16.