Psychosocial Aspects of Disability: Insider Perspectives and Strategies for Counselors

What a marvelous and amazing textbook. Drs. Marini, Glover-Graf and Millington have done a remarkable job in the design of this highly unique book, that comprehensively and very thoughtfully addresses the psychosocial aspects of the disability experience. These highly respected scholars have produced a major work that will be a central text in rehabilitation education for years to come.

From the Foreword by Michael J. Leahy, Ph.D., LPC, CRC
Office of Rehabilitation and Disability Studies
Michigan State University

This is an excellent book, but the best parts are the stories of the disabled, which give readers insights into their struggles and triumphs." Score: 94, 4 Stars--Doody's Medical Reviews

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.

• Contains narratives of people living with blindness, hearing impairments, spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, polio, mental illness, and other disabilities
• Provides counseling guidelines and strategies specifically geared toward specific disabilities, including "dos and don'ts"
• Includes psychological and sociological research relating to individual disabilities
• Discusses ongoing treatment issues and ethical dilemmas for rehabilitation counselors
• Presents thought-provoking discussion questions in each chapter
• Authored by prominent professor and researcher who became disabled as a young adult

Dr. Irmo Marini, PhD, is Professor and Graduate Coordinator, Department of Rehabilitation, the College of Health Sciences and Human Services, University of Texas Pan-American, Edinburg, TX. He has national certifications as Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Certified Life Care Planner. Dr. Marini is on the editorial boards of several rehabilitation counseling journals and has over 60 journal and book chapter publications. He also writes a quarterly column for the Psychosocial Process, the official journal of the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers. He is the recipient of four outstanding faculty awards in scholarship and two in teaching. Dr. Marini is former Chair of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, the national certifying body of over 16,000 Rehabilitation Counselors in the US and Canada, and is current President of the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association. Dr. Marini owns and operates Marini & Associates, forensic rehabilitation consultants specializing in vocational assessments and life care planning in legal cases involving personal injuries.

Noreen M. Glover-Graf, RhD is a Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation at The University of Texas - Pan American. Dr. Graf's professional interests include research in the areas of rehabilitation education, and disability and spirituality.