SECTION 5: REHABILITATION COUNSELING

H. REHABILITATION COUNSELING

Students who are preparing to specialize as rehabilitation counselors will demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to address varied issues within the rehabilitation counseling context. Rehabilitation counselors work collaboratively with individuals with disabilities, their support systems, and their environments to achieve their personal, social, psychological, and vocational goals. Counselor education programs with a specialty area in rehabilitation counseling must document where each of the lettered standards listed below is covered in the curriculum.

  1. FOUNDATIONS
    1. history, legislation, systems, philosophy, and current trends of rehabilitation counseling
    2. theories, models, and interventions related to rehabilitation counseling
    3. principles and processes of vocational rehabilitation, career development, and job development and placement
    4. principles of independent living, self-determination, and informed choice
    5. principles of societal inclusion, participation, access, and universal design, with respect for individual differences
    6. classification, terminology, etiology, functional capacity, prognosis, and effects of disabilities
    7. methods of assessment for individuals with disabilities, including testing instruments, individual accommodations, environmental modification, and interpretation of results
  2. CONTEXTUAL DIMENSIONS
    1. professional rehabilitation counseling scope of practice, roles, and settings
    2. medical and psychosocial aspects of disability, including attention to coexisting conditions
    3. individual response to disability, including the role of families, communities, and other social networks
    4. information about the existence, onset, degree, progression, and impact of an individual’s disability, and an understanding of diagnostic systems including the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
    5. impact of psychosocial influences, cultural beliefs and values, diversity and social justice issues, poverty, and health disparities, with implications for employment and quality of life for individuals with disabilities
    6. impact of socioeconomic trends, public policies, stigma, access, and attitudinal barriers as they relate to disability
    7. awareness and understanding of the impact of crisis, trauma, and disaster on individuals with disabilities, as well as the disability-related implications for emergency management preparation
    8. impact of disability on human sexuality
    9. awareness of rehabilitation counseling specialty area services and practices, as well as specialized services for specific disability populations
    10. knowledge of organizational settings related to rehabilitation counseling services at the federal, tribal, state, and local levels/li>
    11. education and employment trends, labor market information, and resources about careers and the world of work, as they apply to individuals with disabilities
    12. Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation insurance, long-term disability insurance, veterans’ benefits, and other benefit systems that are used by individuals with disabilities
    13. individual needs for assistive technology and rehabilitation services
    14. advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and the profession as related to disability and disability legislation
    15. federal, tribal, state, and local legislation, regulations, and policies relevant to individuals with disabilities
    16. professional organizations, preparation standards, and credentials relevant to the practice of rehabilitation counseling
    17. legal and ethical aspects of rehabilitation counseling, including ethical decision-making models
    18. administration and management of rehabilitation counseling practice, including coordination of services, payment for services, and record keeping
  3. PRACTICE
    1. evaluation of feasibility for services and case management strategies that facilitate rehabilitation and independent living planning
    2. informal and formal assessment of the needs and adaptive, functional, and transferable skills of individuals with disabilities
    3. evaluation and application of assistive technology with an emphasis on individualized assessment and planning
    4. understanding and use of resources for research and evidence-based practices applicable to rehabilitation counseling
    5. strategies to enhance coping and adjustment to disability
    6. techniques to promote self-advocacy skills of individuals with disabilities to maximize empowerment and decision-making throughout the rehabilitation process
    7. strategies to facilitate successful rehabilitation goals across the lifespan
    8. career development and employment models and strategies to facilitate recruitment, inclusion, and retention of individuals with disabilities in the work place
    9. strategies to analyze work activity and labor market data and trends, to facilitate the match between an individual with a disability and targeted jobs
    10. advocacy for the full integration and inclusion of individuals with disabilities, including strategies to reduce attitudinal and environmental barriers
    11. assisting individuals with disabilities to obtain knowledge of and access to community and technology services and resources
    12. consultation with medical/health professionals or interdisciplinary teams regarding the physical/mental/cognitive diagnoses, prognoses, interventions, or permanent functional limitations or restrictions of individuals with disabilities
    13. consultation and collaboration with employers regarding the legal rights and benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities, including accommodations, universal design, and workplace disability prevention

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