Clinician experiences of administering the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) in a forensic intellectual disability service

Purpose – Social climate (ward atmosphere) affects numerous treatment outcomes. The most commonly used measure is the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) (Schalast et al., 2008). Though studies have investigated the psychometric properties of EssenCES in intellectual disability populations, few have focused on the clinical utility, or accessibility of the measure. The purpose of this paper is to examine clinician's experiences of using this measure with this population. Design/methodology/approach – Clinicians experienced in administering EssenCES with forensic intellectual disability patients completed an open-ended questionnaire, which sought qualitative data on their experiences of using EssenCES with this population. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings – A number of issues were raised regarding use of EssenCES with patients with intellectual disability. Four overarching themes arose: Understanding of Language, Commenting on Others, Understanding of Likert Scale, and Scale Posit...