Expansion Rehabilitation: An Empowering Conceptual Framework for Rehabilitation following Acquired Disability
Rehabilitation counselling is in need of a conceptual framework that will distinguish it from the medical notion of restoration and will provide a theoretical base from which rehabilitation counsellors can operate. The current paper presents a model of dishabilitation that highlights the processes that occur following acquired disability and that must be considered in designing a rehabilitation programme. The model suggests that the goal of rehabilitation should be the expansion of opportunities rather than the restoration of functions or previous position. By providing rehabilitation counsellors with a suitable “macro”level conceptualisation of rehabilitation, this approach will enable counsellors to implement “micro”level techniques in a manner that will empower individuals. Because intervention is aimed at opportunity expansion rather than the pursuit of specific goals, this approach allows individuals to retain control and to develop positive perceptions of themselves with their disability. The approach is also more sensitive to the impact of acquired disability on social networks and suggests that opportunities for families must also be expanded.