One of the primary focuses of rehabilitation counseling is the career development, employment, and vocational behavior of individuals with disabilities. Career assessment plays a very large role in the conceptualization of career-related issues and the delivery of appropriate career and employment services to people with disabilities. This chapter provides rehabilitation counselors with the necessary information and understanding of concepts and career assessments that impact the career development and employment of people with disabilities. It begins with an overview of the importance of work and the benefits derived from engaging in productive work—related activities. The chapter briefly discusses the factors that impact the career development and employment of people with disabilities and introduces the Illinois Work and Well-Being Model as a conceptual framework that can be used to guide career assessment. The chapter concludes with a description and overview of commonly used career measures used in rehabilitation counseling setting.

Assessment interviewing often takes place during the early stages of helping, which includes obtaining information about the client related to the client’s problem or area of change desired. During this stage of helping, the counselor is involved in “conceptualization or formulation” of the problem within counseling sessions or specifically within the assessment interview. Interviewing to assess entails a focus on all aspects of clinical concern, including physiology, cognition, behavior, duration, severity, relationships, and context. A detailed and thorough assessment interview that clarifies the problem holistically leads not only to accurate assessment but also, in later stages of helping, to amelioration. Assessment interviewing is viewed as the foundation of the therapeutic, counseling, and/or rehabilitation process. This chapter is on the assessment interview. It covers types and formats of assessment interviews. This overview is intended to orient the reader to the importance of depth, detail, and thoroughness within the assessment interview.

This chapter introduces the role of assessment in contemporary rehabilitation counseling practice. A five-step, problem-solving approach consisting of Problem Orientation, Problem Identification, Generation of Alternatives, Decision-Making, and Verification was introduced as a process to help guide the rehabilitation assessment process. The chapter also introduces Assessment, Test, Measurement, and Variable as key terms that are relevant in rehabilitation counseling assessment and the different types of assessment methods typically used. It discusses contemporary issues that have, and continue to impact the use of assessment in rehabilitation counseling. The introduction of these important issues and concepts related to assessment should provide rehabilitation counselors with the necessary basic understanding to be informed implementers and consumers of assessment in rehabilitation counseling. In addition, rehabilitation counselors who are familiar with the pros and cons associated with assessment in rehabilitation counseling will be more likely to apply rehabilitation assessment to maximize individual outcomes.

This chapter discusses the ethical issues related to assessment in rehabilitation counseling, describes the ethical standards in the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC, 2017) Code of Ethics, and explains the connection between the CRCC (2017) Code and related assessment standards. Assessment is an essential knowledge domain underlying rehabilitation counseling practice. Since assessment and diagnosis can have a profound effect on clients’ lives, it is critical for rehabilitation counselors to adhere to best ethical practices. Whether or not assessment is their predominant job function, all rehabilitation counselors are responsible for integrating assessment and diagnostic information in their work with clients. The chapter overviews the basic tenets of ethical practice related to assessment and evaluation with specific consideration for disability and diversity. In reviewing processes for competence and informed consent as well as the selection, administration, and interpretation of instruments and tests, the chapter offers behavioral guidance for rehabilitation counselors.

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework for assessing biopsychosocial predictors of community participation and health-related quality of life is consistent with the values espoused by rehabilitation counselors. Rehabilitation counselors advocate for the dignity and worth of all people, for inclusion of people with disabilities in society to the fullest extent possible, and for advocacy to provide people with disabilities the best opportunity to maximize their independent functioning and community participation. The ICF model integrates all key concepts of the medical, functional, and social models of disability and provides the best potential for use as an integrative assessment framework for people with chronic illness and disability. This chapter reviews the key components of the ICF model, introduced the ICF vocational rehabilitation (VR) framework, and supplied a battery of ICFVR measures to assist rehabilitation counselors in applying the ICF framework to real-world rehabilitation assessment practice.