Rehabilitation Counseling: Evolution and Current Status

Abstract

This article provides a brief review of the evolution and current status of rehabilitation counseling. Rehabilitation counseling practice is described along with the required competencies of rehabilitation counselors in providing services to individuals with disabilities. The professional status of the discipline is reviewed in terms of programs for educational preparation, professional associations, accreditation, regulation of practice, ethical mandates, and research. Finally, continuing challenges for the discipline are identified.

Rehabilitation Counselor Professional Identity Development in Master's-Level Training Programs: An Exploratory Study of Potential Influencing Factors

“…It was not until the 20th century, after the dramatic impact of the casualties of World War I were felt, that the process of assisting this population with vocational issues became formalized (Leahy & Szymanski, 1995;Rubin & Roessler, 2007). A service delivery system was established that focused on the needs of veterans who returned from service with disabling conditions.…”

“…Shifts in thinking about the field's direction have been influenced by factors other than the rationale for unification (Anderson, 1992;Leahy & Szymanski, 1995). Such factors include scientific breakthroughs; challenges in philosophical and ethical realms; policy shifts at the federal, state, and local levels (Parker, 1990); consumerism (Kosciulek, 1999); role and function studies (Leahy, Chan, & Saunders, 2003;Muthard & Salamone, 1977); models of disability (Corrigan & Lam, 2007;Curl & Sheldon, 1992;Schriner, 1995); professional organizations (Leahy & Tarvydas, 2001); accreditation (Shaw et al, 2006); and professional membership studies (Cook, 1990;Trotter & Kozochowicz, 1970).…”

“…There is considerable disagreement among those who view the field as a separate profession and those who view it as a subspecialty within counseling (Havranek, 2000;Hennessey, 2001;Leahy & Szymanski, 1995;Mpofu, 2000). This debate can be traced back at least three decades when Kenneth Reagles began his term as president of the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA;1980-1981.…”

The Effects of Level of Counselor Education on Client Outcomes in the Public Vocational Rehabilitation System of New Jersey

“…Research efforts to identify the knowledge and skills required to serve people with the most severe disabilities within the rehabilitation have also helped to establish professional identity (Leahy & Szymanski, 1995). Academic preparation for this degree incorporates fundamentals of professionalism, including an exploration of how individual values and beliefs relate to people with varying disabilities.…”

Consumer Concepts of Ideal Characteristics and Minimum Qualifications for Rehabilitation Counselors

“…Second is the growing acceptance of including phenomenological, qualitative research methodologies in many behavioral sciences (Ellis & Flaherty, 1992;Glesne & Peshkin, 1992;Spencer, 1993). Numerous publications, ranging from lobbying reports by professional associations to chapters in academic textbooks, echo the profession's concern with the debate over what defines a &dquo;qualified rehabilitation professional&dquo; (Danek, 1996;Goetz, 1997; Leahy, 1997;Leahy & Szymanski, 1995;Tarvydas & Leahy, 1993). The major controversy swirls around legal definitions written into federal funding legislation or state licensing laws goveming the scope of practice of those who deliver counselingrelated rehabilitation services.…”