This chapter highlights that the realm of hypnosis is full of startling, counterintuitive, and even “magical” experiences and phenomena and devotes some attention to the potential advantages of trying to cage such phenomena within the framework of rigorous research design. It outlines major features of effective research design, which apply as fully to hypnosis as to any other domain, by referring to some classic experiments in the history of science. The chapter distinguishes among three major types of hypnosis research, intrinsic, neurophysiological and instrumental hypnosis researches, which require somewhat different handling of these basic design issues. Qualitative reviews and meta-analytic studies consistently document the potential of hypnosis to play a role in the treatment of a wide variety of psychological and medical conditions, ranging from acute and chronic pain to obesity. Neurophysiological research is one of the most intriguing and active areas of hypnosis-related inquiry.

Unwanted sequelae of therapeutic trance states were observed in the healing temples of ancient Greece. Hypnosis, like other beneficial therapeutic modalities, is inevitably associated with instances of unintended, unwanted, and undesirable consequences. These range from transient and trivial discomforts to more lasting mild through severe uncomfortable forms of physical, psychophysiological, and psychological distress. While unwanted responses to hypnosis are more common and covert than has been generally understood, the risk of their occurrence can be markedly reduced by the more thorough evaluation of the patient, the regular use of rather basic and straightforward clinical interventions, and the individualization of the techniques and imagery brought to bear in the treatment setting. Further, initially unrecognized incipient problems often can be identified and nipped in the bud by monitoring alertness with the clinician- and patient-friendly Howard Alertness Scale (HAS) and the more assertive use of directive approaches to dehypnosis.

The aging population is at a state of development that is not as focused on employment, and thus has difficulty finding its place in a society that defines people by their careers. Research is needed on the issues of aging workers, such as training needs, career transition issues, and retirement planning. Research is also needed on which accommodations, workplace modifications, and changes to policies and practices positively impact the retention and continued productivity of an aging workforce. Counselor practitioners are in a unique position to contribute to needed research design conceptualization, metrics, and analyses to test the multiplicity of interventions we will be exploring in the coming years to keep our aging workforce healthy and intellectually engaged in the employment environment. Counselors are experientially qualified to provide the needed services to keep this population productive and more fully engaged in their communities and continuing employment.

This chapter presents a family attachment network model to describe the adaptation of military families during the stress of deployment and their adjustment during the reintegration process. The family attachment network consists of multiple relationships existing at multiple system levels (e.g., individual, dyadic, subsystem, and system-wide interaction patterns), each of which has rules and attributes that are distinct and do not exist at other levels, yet are inextricably intertwined with other levels and the larger system. Similarly, within the family system, each attachment relationship is unique, such that a child’s attachment behaviors toward different caregivers can vary, siblings can demonstrate different attachment strategies with the same caregiver, and parent child attachment relationships often diverge from spousal attachment patterns. A central assumption of the proposed model is that attachment relationships and family systems are fundamental contexts for risk and resilience between military members and their families during the deployment cycle.

Assistive technology (AT) has a profound impact on the everyday lives and employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities by providing them with greater independence and enabling them to perform activities not possible in the past. Self-esteem, self-efficacy, and motivation are described as central elements in increasing a consumer’s confidence and belief in self. Good outcomes and efficacy expectations, as well as strong motivation, help lead to successful adaptation to AT. This chapter presents the human component of technology, the relationship between consumers and technological devices/equipment, and the acceptance and use by consumers. It offers recommendations to assist rehabilitation professionals in helping consumers with accepting, utilizing, and benefiting from technology. There needs to be a close and appropriate fit between the technological device and consumer. Therefore, the need for the counselor to actively listen and engage the consumer in the process is essential to the effectiveness and outcome of AT success.

The impact of extraordinarily stressful and traumatic events on active-duty service members, veterans, and their family members is a critically relevant topic when providing services to those who have a combination of mental and physical disabilities. Recent conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries in the Middle East have spurred the expansion of programs and services for veterans, including those with disabilities. To inform the provision of mental health interventions for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation New Dawn (OND), veterans, a thorough understanding of the mental health problems in this population is a necessary first step. This chapter reviews research on the prevalence and types of mental health problems among OEF/OIF/OND veterans, associated risk factors, and other psychosocial issues and provides empirical evidence for treatment in this population. This material provides guidance to clinicians working with mental health and psychosocial problems of veterans of the OEF/OIF/OND conflicts.

This chapter explores a range of topics related to obesity, including its prevalence, medical aspects, and associated complications. Other relevant areas include the psychosocial factors pertaining to societal attitudes and individual mental health issues, vocational implications concerning work/wage discrimination, Social Security regulations, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protections. The chapter also discusses the implications for rehabilitation counselors regarding vocational and mental health counseling. The implications of working with persons who are obese or overweight may be broken down into mental health counseling and/or vocational counseling. Obesity and related medical complications have soared to the forefront of medical conditions that lead to premature death, discrimination in employment, compromised quality of life, and negative psychosocial implications. Counselors who are aware of the medical, psychosocial, and vocational implications of obesity can assist clients in a variety of ways, keeping Olkin’s (1999) recommendations in mind regarding disability-affirmative therapy.

The conceptualization of disability as an attribute located solely within an individual is changing to a paradigm in which disability is thought to be an interaction among the individual, the disability, and the environment. This chapter draws both theoretical and practice implications, which may assist practitioners and educators in gaining a clearer understanding of counseling clients who have disabilities, from four broad models of disability. Intended as a broad overview of the major models and an introductory discussion of ways in which these models can affect the profession of counseling, the chapter presents several different ways of conceptualizing the experience of disability. The four broad models are: (a) the biomedical model, (b) the functional model, (c) the environmental model, and (d) the sociopolitical model. The functional model and the environmental model are presented together because both are interactive models; stated differently.

This chapter reviews the history of treatment toward people with disabilities (PWDs) in the United States. Early immigration literature and the apparent attitudes and treatment toward PWDs, as well as certain other immigrant populations, were blatantly prejudiced and discriminatory. Antidisability sentiment became more evident with immigration restriction, which began as early as the development of the first North American settlements. The eugenics movement essentially died down after World War II, primarily because of Social Darwinism and the Nazi extermination of an estimated 250,000 German citizens and war veterans with disabilities. The survival-of-the-fittest concept and natural selection in the 21st century appear to have morphed into a survival of the financially fittest ideology. With the aging of America and millions of baby boomers moving into their golden years, the financial portfolios of these individuals dictate what the quality of their lives will be, like at no time before in American history.

In the past quarter of a century, several attempts have been made to categorize the different sources of negative attitudes toward individuals with disabling conditions. This chapter integrates the major approaches in the domain of attitudinal sources toward people with disabilities and offers a new classification system by which these attitudes can be better conceptualized and understood. Some of the major categories included are: (a) conditioning by sociocultural norms that emphasize certain qualities not met by the disabled population; (b) childhood influences in which early life experiences foster the formation of stereotypic adult beliefs and values; and (c) psychodynamic mechanisms that may play a role in creating unrealistic expectations and unresolved conflicts when interacting with disabled persons. Parental and significant others’ actions, words, tone of voice, gestures, and so forth, are transmitted to the child and tend to have a crucial impact on the formation of attitudes toward disability.