Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors’ Self-Employment Perceptions and Related Client Characteristics

Self-employment is a viable option to increase the quality of life and well-being of people with disabilities. People with disabilities are also twice as likely to be self-employed than those in the general population. While self-employment interest and activity among people with disabilities has remained constant over the past three decades, vocational rehabilitation counselors rarely use self-employment as a closure option. The purpose of the present study was to examine counselors’ perceptions regarding self-employment and identify client characteristics deemed necessary for self-employment success. The national sample consisted of 205 Certified Rehabilitation Counselors. Significant statistical differences were found among counselors in variables including: age, education, disability status, time worked, employment status, self-employment experience, and work sector. Opportunities for future research and implications for the field of rehabilitation are discussed

Psychosocial Aspects of Disability: Insider Perspectives and Counseling Strategies

What are the differences between individuals with disabilities who flourish as opposed to those who never really adjust after a trauma? How are those born with a disability different from individuals who acquire one later in life? This is the first textbook about the psychosocial aspects of disability to provide students and practitioners of rehabilitation counseling with vivid insight into the experience of living with a disability. It features the first-person narratives of 16 people living with a variety of disabling conditions, which are integrated with sociological and societal perspectives toward disability, and strategies for counseling persons with disabilities. Using a minority model perspective to address disability, the book focuses on historical perspectives, cultural variants regarding disability, myths and misconceptions, the attitudes of special interest and occupational groups, the psychology of disability with a focus on positive psychology, and adjustments to disability by the individual and family. A wealth of counseling guidelines and useful strategies are geared specifically to individual disabilities.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usufaculty_monographs/1067/thumbnail.jp

Presenting Issues of Concern among Active-Duty Service Members with Depression and/or Suicidality

The military continues to have higher rates of suicide than the civilian population. Literature indicates that rates of depression and suicidality are influenced by branch of service, marital status, rank, and deployment. However, the specific issues of concern for service members who seek mental health treatment with depression and/or suicidal ideation when they first present is absent from the literature. This study inspects archived records and counselor notes from 422 outpatient and inpatient mental health records at a US naval hospital to examine presenting issues among service members with documented depression or suicidality. Fourteen presenting issues were identified. The most pervasive presenting issues were work stress (32%) and partner relational stress (28.9%). Statistically significant differences are presented based on gender, inpatient/outpatient status, living status, marital status, suicide attempt, rank, and age