Iraq veterans were asked to describe readjustment difficulties following their return from combat service. A qualitative analysis addressed four themes (professional concerns, social interactions, behavioral and emotional challenges, and changing life views) relevant to post-service classroom adjustment. Recommendations for educational accommodations are provided based upon review of the literature and qualitative data analysis.

Purpose: Workplace accommodations are central to improving employment outcomes for people with and without disabilities; this study presents national estimates comparing accommodation requests and receipt as reported by individuals with and without disabilities.

Method: Estimates are developed from the May 2012 Current Population Survey Disability Supplement.

Results: The findings highlight variability in accommodation requests by disability type and status. Accommodation request rates are also presented by occupation and industry groups.

Conclusions: As employers voice concerns about the additional burden of employing individuals with disabilities under new regulatory requirements, our findings highlight that 95% of individuals requesting an accommodation were people without disabilities.

This paper examines applications of action research to rehabilitation education. An overview of action research is provided, and specific examples of action research in rehabilitation and other professions are illustrated. Emphasis is placed on utilizing action research to evaluate teaching and student learning and develop scientist practitioners who engage in active self-reflection about their practices.

Demographic data projections for the United States indicate a significant increase in the population of older persons with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates community access for individuals with disabilities, including older individuals who are aging with or aging into disabilities. However, there is limited research regarding the knowledge and the use of the ADA among this population specific to their perceptions and experiences regarding barriers and facilitators to community access and participation as mandated under the Act. The purpose of this qualitative focus group study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of a sample of older adults with disabilities regarding their community access, and their knowledge and utilization of the provisions of the ADA to facilitate community participation. Analysis of results identified three predominant themes within this sample of older adults: experiences with structural and attitudinal barriers to community access leading; fear of loss of autonomy and independence in the community, and how they deploy; coping and advocacy strategies to address barriers. Recommendations for improving ADA knowledge, access, and utilization among the population, as well as senior service providers, are also addressed.

In 2007, we offered an innovative blended graduate level rehabilitation counseling course. The course was delivered online and in Hong Kong. It included readings, PowerPoint presentations and discussion board features on Blackboard, as well as face-to-face lectures and guest speakers in a classroom context at the City University of Hong Kong. Additionally, students were required to visit various psychiatric rehabilitation and mental health programs throughout Hong Kong, and participation in the 2007 World Congress of the World Federation for Mental Health. Two faculty members and 13 students spenta total of 10 days in Hong Kong. The authors discuss the development and delivery of the course including course design, content, delivery methods and logistics. Implications are explored for teaching innovation in rehabilitation education.

Purpose: To identify academic and demographic variables related to a successful outcome on the national certification exam for occupational therapists (National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy [NBCOT] exam) at one academic institution with the expectation that it could be replicated with multiple institutions.

Method: Binary logistic regression analyses were used to analyze three sets of academic and demographic predictors of the pass/retake outcome on the NBCOT exam.

Results: Results of these analyses indicated that overall grade point average (GPA) and outcomes of specific academic coursework that was focused on practice application predicted passing the NBCOT examination on the first attempt.

Conclusion: Results from this study illustrate the complexity in predicting performance on the NBCOT examination and the need to expand the predictors included in future analyses.

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to gather descriptive data on the professional use of social media in public rehabilitation settings and to analyze existing social media policies in those agencies through content analysis.

Methods: The authors sent a survey to all state administrators or directors of these agencies (N = 50) in the United States, requesting frequency and other descriptive information, plus a copy of their social media policies (if available). The available policies were reviewed using content analysis procedures.

Results: The results showed that although the frequency of social media use was high, training and inclusion of ethics was low. Regarding policy, approximately 42% reported a lack of an existing policy, and 38% were unsure about having a policy guide. The analysis of the available policies yielded 11 themes around which these policies were organized.

Discussion: The authors offer a discussion of these results and its implications for policy and practice as well as future research. These include the need for more comprehensive social media policy creation in agencies and the role of clinical supervisors in ensuring ethical practice.

Purpose: To identify the current training needs of state-federal rehabilitation counselors and determine if the self-perceived training needs differ for participants who are a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC) to those counselors with out the CRC credential.

Method: A mixed-methods internet-based survey design was utilized and included descriptive, qualitative, and ex post facto approaches on a sample of rehabilitation counselors (N = 341) via the Knowledge Validation Inventory-Revised (KVI-R).

Results: The participants reported high or moderate self-perceived training needs on 9 of the 10 content areas on the KVI-R; however, no significant differences between certified and non-certified rehabilitation counselors were found. Highest degree earned and numbers of years in practice were significant predictors of training needs.

Conclusion: The results from this study indicate a self-reported need for additional training of state-federal rehabilitation counselors in many of the CORE knowledge domains considered essential for rehabilitation counseling. The findings also indicate that as level of education and experience increased among this sample, the need for training decreased.

Purpose: To examine the extent to which rehabilitation counselor educators understand and are committed to infusing social justice in the rehabilitation counseling curricula.

Method: The authors used a quantitative descriptive research design to examine the level and extent of integrating social justice into rehabilitation counseling curricular. The participants were 59 rehabilitation counselor educators recruited during the eighth Annual Rehabilitation Educators Conference hosted by the National Council on Rehabilitation Education.

Results: The study found that most participants perceived it important to integrate social justice into rehabilitation counseling curricula. The level and extent of integration varied by academic rank and years of teaching.

Conclusion: To ensure future rehabilitation counselors gain social justice competency, it is of great significance that rehabilitation counseling educators infuse the concepts of social justice into the curricula through knowledge and fieldwork domains.

Purpose: Recognizing a perceived lack of assistive technology/adaptive equipment (AT/AE) competence on the part of counselors and educators (Kuo, 2013), this article provides an overview of assistive technology concepts and accreditation standards, and introduces a training model intended to improve rehabilitation counselor readiness to address client AT/AE needs.

Method: Drawing on the extant literature, professional scopes of practice, and interdisciplinary clinical experience, the authors conceptualize AT/AE service delivery along a biopsychosocial continuum.

Results: The resultant model of AT/AE team collaboration can be taught by counselor educators and understood by students without specialty certification or preexisting knowledge of AT. The model spans the continuum of care from medical to psychosocial, details the roles of rehabilitation disciplines, and offers a pedagogical tool for infusing AT concepts across the curriculum.

Conclusion: Ultimately, this article advocates for increased rehabilitation counselor engagement and entry-level competence in addressing the psychosocial aspects of AT/AE. Future research should be conducted to validate the constructs of this model.

This paper addresses the topic of assistive technology (AT) to offer a direction for its future role within the rehabilitation profession. A brief overview of the five AT legislative acts to date is provided. Next, future considerations for AT are offered in the context of what we know within the U.S. and global communities followed by the imperative to apply AT evenly to all types of disabilities as well as all groups defined by various demographic dimensions. Recommendations for improving the viability of research efforts for AT are provided along with several strategies for mainstreaming its role within graduate rehabilitation education programs to develop a future workforce that has a more astute understanding of AT and a greater inclination to use it. The current status of AT in producing clinical outcomes is discussed. Finally, frameworks for involving key stakeholder voices to holistically evaluate the success of AT policy as well as measure its impact are provided.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) contains several important provisions that make postsecondary education more accessible and affordable for young adults with disabilities. This is particularly true for students with intellectual disabilities, as the law created new comprehensive transition and postsecondary programs and provided access to federal student aid to this population for the first time. This article presents a brief summary of the original Higher Education Act of 1965, as well as a detailed summary of the HEOA. Portions of the legislation specific to students with disabilities are highlighted, and specific implications for rehabilitation counselors and pre-service students are presented.

Objective: To examine the roles of attachment, social support, and coping as psychosocial correlates in predicting happiness in people with spinal cord injuries.

Design: Quantitative descriptive research design using multiple regression and correlation techniques.

Participants: 274 individuals with spinal cord injuries.

Outcome Measures: Happiness as measured by the Subjective Happiness Scale.

Results: Functional disability and psychosocial correlates including coping, attachment styles, and social support were found to be associated with happiness scores. Functional disability was found to have a large negative effect on happiness and the effect was significantly reduced after taking into consideration the effect of positive psychology factors.

Conclusion: Positive psychology variables are important for happiness and subjective well-being, and happiness in turn is related to better quality of life. The negative relationship between functional disability and happiness can be mediated by attachment, social support, and coping. Rehabilitation professionals should deemphasize negative characteristics related to poor psychological adjustment and focus on positive human traits and positive psychology interventions for people with disabilities.

Often, the aim of distance learning (DL) is to enhance individual learning, not to change workplace practices. Changing organizational policies, practices and behaviors related to disability calls for a different DL approach that engages users and contextualizes knowledge. In the disability arena, there is a need for programming that brings about disability inclusive workplace practices by reaching more deeply within workplace cultures. Mid-level managers are key arbiters of disability inclusiveness and workplace practices, yet they are difficult to reach. We have designed and piloted a Just-in-Time (JIT) approach to reach managers that includes two phases: Phase I engages a core group within the organization, and Phase II focuses on a JIT toolkit.

Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual article is to present a framework that incorporates the concept of culture humility into effective rehabilitation services.

Method: Based on a comprehensive literature review and theoretical integration, this article provides the reader with the basic concept of cultural humility, similarities and differences between cultural humility and cultural competence, and significance of the cultural humility concept to rehabilitation counseling.

Results: The literature consistently describes the need for professionals to be culturally competent to effectively serve an increasingly diverse population. However, when using only a multicultural competency framework, counselors may have false beliefs about their competence in working with culturally diverse individuals, understate the power imbalance between service providers and clients, and ignore institutional (e.g., system, homophobia, racism) accountability. Cultural humility can directly address these issues and serve as a complement to cultural competence in rehabilitation counseling services given its emphasis on reflectivity, power differentials between counselors and clients, and institutional accountability.

Conclusion: Cultural humility can be applied to rehabilitation research, education, and practice. We need to broaden multicultural rehabilitation counseling through a cultural humility approach.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to develop a campaign to promote an environment of solidarity and support on college campuses for students with mental illnesses.

Method: Data were gathered from 24 members of a Chicago university campus who were selected as representatives of key campus stakeholder groups including students, administrative staff, counseling center staff, residence life staff, and faculty. Participants attended focus groups and key-informant interviews during the fall of 2011.

Results: Qualitative analyses using grounded theory methodology revealed themes corresponding to two distinct overarching constructs: potential benefits of the campaign and potential concerns of the campaign.

Conclusion: Development of a campaign informed by these results to promote a supportive environment on college campuses for students with mental illnesses may have a positive impact on students’ outcomes.

Purpose: In this article, we seek to determine whether psychiatric rehabilitation principles and practices have been more fully incorporated into the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) standards, the extent to which they are covered in four rehabilitation counseling “foundations” textbooks, and how they are reflected in the contents of three key journals in rehabilitation counseling.

Methods: We conducted a detailed review of literature that has surveyed coordinators of graduate programs accredited by the CORE as well as research that investigates the preparedness of graduates of CORE-accredited rehabilitation counseling programs to deliver services to people with psychiatric disabilities.

Results: This review found that psychiatric rehabilitation is only touched upon in the CORE standards, is modestly alluded to in the most commonly used foundational textbooks, and has very few articles about it published annually in rehabilitation journals.

Conclusion: Recommendations on methods for increasing psychiatric rehabilitation content in CORE-accredited programs are provided. Specific suggestions are made for resources and activities that can be added to rehabilitation counseling curricula to include psychiatric rehabilitation.

Purpose: This study examined and documented minority disability and health research leaders’ experiences and perspectives on career development challenges and success strategies. Methods: A sample of 15 African American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Latino, and Asian research leaders as key informants participated in the inquiry. Research team members and external project advisory panel members collaboratively developed the interview protocol consisting of 8 questions designed to elicit information about career development factors. Trained interviewers conducted semistructured telephone interviews to collect data. Verbatim transcripts of the audiotapes and participant demographics were the primary data that were analyzed using NVivo (Version 10.0). Results: Individual sociocultural challenges (e.g., cultural barriers, language/communication issues, family life issues, and limited collaboration opportunities), institutional research environmental concerns (e.g., bureaucracy, alienation, insufficient research support funds, and discrimination), and federal research agency policy and systems context–induced issues (e.g., limited mentorship opportunities, inadequate supply of minority research leaders and role models, unhealthy competition, and lack of equal opportunity) emerged among key informants’ perspectives as important barriers. Identified success strategies included the need for early career investigators to build, expand, and use support networks, establish multidisciplinary collaborations, develop strong work ethic, enhance research skills (e.g., methodological and grant writing), and obtain capable mentorship. Conclusions: The aforementioned factors should be considered in the creation of new career development models and paradigms aimed at diversifying the scientific workforce.

Purpose: People living with chronic illness face significant challenges with employment. This study explores the impact of participating in the Career Construction Interview (CCI) on the career exploration of individuals facing a forced career transition due to the onset or exacerbation of a chronic illness.

Method: An instrumental multiple case study design was used in this qualitative study. A purposeful, homogeneous sample of three female adults was used to gain multiple perspective of forced career transitions. The participants were within 2 years of their diagnosis or exacerbation of one or more chronic health conditions and had to change their career because of the impact of their condition(s).

Results: Eight open codes and five axial codes were discovered through the process of constant comparative analysis. For this study one open code (CCI experience) and five axial codes will be discussed.

Conclusions: This study found patterns related to chronic illness and career and that the Career Construction Interview was helpful to the participants in assisting them with making decisions about potential careers and options for employment. Implications for rehabilitation counseling practice and suggestions for future research.

Purpose: To understand the level of acceptance of disability by veterans and rehabilitation counselor’s role in that acceptance.

Method: The Acceptance of Disability Scale-Revised was given to 117 veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who acquired disabilities. Their experiences working with certified rehabilitation counselors was also examined.

Results: Results indicate that veterans overall are at a lower acceptance of their disability than other groups. Veterans with the most severe disabilities and lower acceptance scores are more likely to seek assistance from certified rehabilitation counselors.

Conclusion: Veterans with disabilities need to have early and proper interventions from qualified counselors to best transition into civilian life. Knowledge of the stages of disability and steps to acceptance by counselors can aid veterans navigating this process.

Historically, multicultural counselor education has taken a groups approach to educating students about cultural differences. Groups approaches explain cultural differences broadly, potentially leading students to minimize the potential for intra-group differences. This has led to the marginalization of the experiences of students with racial/ethnic minority identities. Incorporating the concepts of power, privilege, and oppression, along with the concept of intersectionality can allow multicultural educators to approach multicultural counselor education in a way that includes all students from any identity. These concepts, along with regularly addressed concepts like identity development, microaggressions, and advocacy, can lead to a broader view of cultural competency. Additionally, when students understand cultural competency within this framework, they have the tools to become lifelong learners. This approach allows students to learn about different client identities and cultures as they are encountered in the students' counseling experiences or as they evolve.

Purpose: This exploratory study advances personnel preparation research through the investigation of the transition content found on the institutional websites of U.S. universities with Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Master’s Level Personnel Preparation grants for transition planning and services (OSEP, 2015) or master’s-level Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE)-accredited vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs (2014–2105). Individuals seeking transition training are likely to visit institutional websites given that searching online is typically the first step in exploring educational and training options.

Method: A process of systematic website searches, protocol for data extraction, and an iterative content analysis were used. Data profiles were constructed, and the types of offerings were characterized and defined.

Results: Twelve universities were associated with the transition offerings of eight OSEP-funded programs (8/23 or 35%) and eight CORE-accredited programs (8/97 or 8%) and their corresponding 22 websites. Four of the 12 universities appeared on both lists.

Conclusions: The renewed focus on transition services within the legislation (The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act [WIOA], 2014) will no doubt increase the demand for educational preparation and professional development. These findings provide a baseline from which to improve visibility and develop further offerings. Areas for immediate improvement are the accuracy of the program descriptions and the ease of finding details.

Applied training of pre-practicum, practicum, and internship are important gateway experiences for rehabilitation counselors-in-training. Counselor educators and supervisors must be aware of requirements and expectations of counselor-in-training supervision and common ethical issues specific to these clinical experiences of rehabilitation counselors-in-training and their supervisors/faculty. The authors identify and discuss the CORE standards for practicum and internship in the preparation of rehabilitation counselors. Information is presented on the preparation phase, mandatory aspects of fieldwork and implications for curriculum standards, as well as supervision, and ethical and legal issues.

An ethics project is described that challenged students to collaborate with disability rights authorities to co-write a code of ethics for a Center of Independent Living. Experiential and reflective assignments analyzed how the construction of knowledge and language is never value-neutral, and people with disabilities need to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Insights from the project suggest considerations for teaching students to construct ethical knowledge that is empathetic and respectful to the culture for which a code of ethics will be applied, in this case, the experience of disability from a social model perspective.

Purpose: In this article, the emerging practice of collaborative documentation (CD) in community mental health care and its applications to rehabilitation counseling were explored. CD has the potential to promote greater client empowerment, clinical transparency, and documentation efficiency and quality; however, the CD process is not well validated through rigorous research.

Method: We provide a critical analysis of issues with current documentation systems, principles of creating collaborative paperwork, and the potential outcomes for rehabilitation clients, agencies, and counselors who use CD.

Results: The benefits of CD for rehabilitation educators, researchers, and practitioners will be provided for implementation in rehabilitation settings.

Conclusion: Rehabilitation practitioners may be increasingly exposed to CD and transparency of treatment records. CD is a developing practice that fits well with the rehabilitation counseling philosophy and the profession’s history of client inclusion in treatment planning.

Purpose: To examine the recent labor market indicators of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) versus non-STEM college graduates with disabilities.

Method: The sample included bachelor of science (B.S.)/B.S.-level college graduates including 1,567,527 with a disability and 32,512,446 without a disability. Data were derived from the American Community Survey public use microdata files 2009–2011 inclusive. Three measures of labor market activity were used: labor force participation rate, unemployment ratio, and employment-to-population ratio.

Results: Nonparametric tests of proportion with stringent alpha levels indicated that overall labor market participation was much lower for graduates with disabilities. Indicators improved somewhat for STEM graduates with disabilities perhaps because they persisted longer in their job search efforts. Within the sample of STEM graduates with disabilities, Whites experienced greater labor market participation than ethnic minorities. It was also found that supply-side interventions to improve STEM employment (i.e., government investment) have been markedly less effective than demand-side interventions (i.e., expanded recruitment of foreign STEM degree holders).

Conclusion: Recent labor economics data and the expanded recruitment of foreign STEM degree holders bring into question whether or not a true STEM crisis exists today.

College recovery services are designed to provide necessary supports for college students with issues related to substance use disorders to be successful in postsecondary education. However, as a still emerging form of student supports, major issues remain such as funding, the utilization of evidence-based interventions, effective program evaluations, and the need for more empirical research. This article provides a historical overview of Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) and an examination of current issues facing the field; it concludes with recommendations for program administrators, researchers, and rehabilitation counselors.

Increased attention to evidence-based practice (EBP) among rehabilitation professionals closely corresponds to recent interest in knowledge translation, which connects quality research to rehabilitation practice aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities. Despite the importance of knowledge translation for rehabilitation professionals, the concept is often overlooked or misunderstood. This article provides a brief review of knowledge translation to clarify potential misconceptions. In addition, communities of practice (CoPs) are introduced as a specific tool for knowledge translation. An overview of CoPs and guidelines for design, development, and use are reviewed. The flexibility and common ownership of CoPs provide an ideal approach for rehabilitation researchers, practitioners, and consumers to work together to develop knowledge and effective practice guidelines.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover if an online course in psychiatric rehabilitation is as successful as a traditional on-campus course in terms of content delivery and learning outcomes.

Method: A traditional on-campus (n = 25) and an online (n = 17) course were compared at pretest and posttest on a measure entitled “Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation Knowledge and Skills Inventory.” A 4 (Skill) × 3 (Time) within-subjects analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to assess changes in the skills of process, potential, partnership, and career advancement over time.

Results: The results were that scores for both formats significantly increased from Time 1 to Time 2, but one format did not perform significantly better than another. The Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation Knowledge and Skills Inventory was found to be a reliable measure.

Conclusion: The study underscores the value of a dedicated psychiatric rehabilitation course in rehabilitation graduate education.

This study examined which of two training models delivered through the internet led to better cultural competence in resolving ethical dilemmas with a sample of rehabilitation professionals. One type of training involved teaching a transcultural integrative model of ethical decision-making while the other training involved using the same transcultural model plus providing additional multicultural counseling theory concepts. Results showed that while both models resulted in significantly higher competence in resolving ethical dilemmas over time, there was no difference in competence ratings between training programs. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Purpose: We explore whether certain employer characteristics predict Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) charges and whether the same characteristics predict receipt of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act charges.

Method: We estimate a set of multivariate regressions using the ordinary least squares method.

Results: Most employer-level characteristics that predict the receipt of ADA charges also predict the receipt of other types of discrimination charges.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that educational outreach efforts aimed at reducing the level of perceived disability discrimination in the workplace can be more efficient by targeting employer groups who are likely to receive charges under not only the ADA but also other statutes as well.

Purpose: To examine the nature of ethical dilemmas most frequently reported by rehabilitation counselors in the private and public sectors and determine if significant differences exist in how practitioners experience ethical dilemmas in these two settings.

Method: A mixed-methods internet-based survey design was utilized and included descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative approaches on a sample of rehabilitation counselors (N = 141) via an instrument created by the researchers.

Results: The results indicate that there are clear differences between both the nature and frequency of ethical dilemmas encountered by practitioners in the private and public sectors of rehabilitation counseling. Findings indicate that there are significant differences not only in the frequency and importance each group attributes to ethical dilemmas but also in the types of ethical dilemmas experienced.

Conclusion: Rehabilitation counselors in the private and public sectors practice in different environments (with varied laws, rehabilitation goals, duration of services), and minimal consideration has been given to the diversity of ethical dilemmas that these practitioners encounter in their professional roles. The inclusion of Section F in the 2010 CRCC Code of Ethics was the rehabilitation counseling field’s first attempt to address the differing nature of ethical dilemmas faced by private rehabilitation counselors in their practice. Further study is warranted to examine the dynamics that underlie the ethical decision-making process as well exploring the differences between these two settings.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the work value preferences of individuals with disabilities with the work value preferences for a sample of individuals without disabilities.

Methods: The preferred work values of a sample of vocational rehabilitation consumers were compared to workers employed in a Southeastern university.

Results: Results indicated that vocational rehabilitation consumers preferred Independence and Support while workers in the general population preferred Recognition and Relationships. No differences were found with respect to Achievement and Working Conditions.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that there are differences between persons with disabilities and the general population with respect to preferred work values. Rehabilitation counselors should assist the consumer in securing employment where there is congruence in work environment and preferred work values.

Newly adopted accreditation standards within rehabilitation counselor education require the assessment of knowledge, skills, and a set of characteristics known as professional dispositions (PDs). PDs may be regarded as individual characteristics like values, beliefs, attitudes, or interpersonal ways of being that influence professional behavior. Yet, this remains an abstract construct that eludes simple definition and measurement. The purpose of this article is to review existing literature related to PDs in order to assist rehabilitation counselor educators in understanding (a) the conceptualization and identification of PDs, (b) the assessment of PDs within a program evaluation process, and (c) contextual dynamics that may influence the assessment of PDs. To this end, the article explores existing PD definitions; common factors related to counseling outcomes; and the guiding philosophies, codes, and values for the field of rehabilitation counseling. Additionally, the role of PDs are discussed in relation to accreditation standards, the development of standardized instruments, student assessment, and program evaluation. Finally, the assessment of PDs are considered in relation to multicultural dynamics, students with disabilities, and distance education.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the measurement structure of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) as a positive psychology measure for people with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) using confirmatory factor analysis. The participants consisted of 274 Canadians with SCI living in the community. The result indicated that the 5-factor intercorrelated model fits the data reasonably well (χ² = 635.20; p value < .001; χ²/df = 2.40; CFI = .90; RMSEA = 0.07). These 5 factors (personal competence, high standards, and tenacity; trust in one’s instincts, tolerance of negative affect, and strengthening effects of stress; positive acceptance of change and secure relationships; control; and spiritual influence) correlated positively with disability acceptance and happiness, and inversely related to depression. The reliability of the 5 subscales was good ranging from .65 to .92. In conclusion, the results of this study confirmed that the 5-factor structure of the CD-RISC observed in the general population can be replicated in a sample of Canadians with SCI. This resilience scale can be used as a positive psychology measure in rehabilitation counseling research and practice.

Purpose: To construct and validate a new self-report instrument, the Clinical Judgment Skill Inventory (CJSI), inclusive of clinical judgment skill competencies that address counselor biases and evidence-based strategies.

Method: An Internet-based survey design was used and an exploratory factor analysis was performed on a sample of rehabilitation counselor educators’ (n = 126) ratings of clinical judgment skill importance for effective rehabilitation counseling practice.

Results: New knowledge of 7 empirically supported clinical judgment skill areas of debiasing techniques (scientific attitude, cultural bias, cognitive complexity, memory bias, confirmatory bias, negative bias, and evidence-based practice) was generated.

Conclusion: The 35-item CJSI has initial empirical evidence to support its reliability and validity and to assess clinical judgment skill competencies (debiasing techniques) of master’s students in rehabilitation counseling programs. However, follow-up studies and use of confirmatory factor analysis are needed to further test and substantiate the CJSI’s content and construct validity.

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was applied to study the factors that influence the intention of public rehabilitation placement professionals to place consumers with major depressive disorder (MDD) in jobs. A sample of 108 public rehabilitation placement professionals in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States completed the MDD Placement Scale (MDDPS), which was based on the Rehabilitation Professional Survey (RPS; Hergenrather, Haase, & Rhodes, 2013; Hergenrather & Rhodes, 2004; Hergenrather, Rhodes, McDaniel, & Brown, 2003). Hypotheses were developed within the guidelines of the TPB to examine the influences of attitude (AT), subjective norm (SN), and impediments on the intention of public rehabilitation placement professionals to place a consumer with MDD in a job. The regression of AT, SN, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) yielded a statistically significant model. Study findings suggest further applications of the TPB in vocational rehabilitation research to enhance job placement outcomes.

This article presents an analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in relation to prior United Nations conventions on disability and U.S. disability policy law with a view to identifying the conventional and also the incremental advances of the CRPD. Previous United Nations conventions related to disability have had, at best, partial success in effectively protecting the human rights of individuals with disabilities. The CRPD, as a policy instrument, has considerable potential for advancing the legal rights of persons with disabilities in the United States and globally. This article reviews this potential from national and international perspectives and explores the implications of the CRPD for rehabilitation counseling advocacy and education.

Purpose: To examine the psychometric properties of two measures of coping in a sample of individuals with acquired hearing loss, specifically late-deafness.

Methods: Using a quantitative descriptive design, coping of participants (N = 277) with late-deafness was measured to examine the reliability and validity of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) and the Brief Coping with Problems Experienced (Brief COPE).

Results: Internal consistency estimates were adequate. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the hypothesized factor structures were not supported. Exploratory factor analyses revealed that three factors best fit the WCQ data. For the Brief COPE, 6 factors best fit the data.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the utility of the Brief COPE when working with individuals with late-deafness as an appropriate measure of coping.

The Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) CORE revised the standards for rehabilitation counseling master's degree program accreditation in 2004. These standards seek to promote effective rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities in both private and public programs (CORE, 2008). This article focuses on the new CORE standard knowledge domain C: Employment and Career Development and its application for rehabilitation counselor educators. The issues of employment and career development have been major factors in the professional practice of rehabilitation counseling from its inception. As a key knowledge domain in the new CORE standards, competence in this domain is integral to preparation for the CRC exam and essential to incorporate in existing rehabilitation counseling graduate programs.

Purpose: To examine the mediational effect of core self-evaluations (CSE) on the relationship between functional disability and life satisfaction.

Methods: A quantitative descriptive design using multiple regression analysis. The participants were 97 college students with disabilities receiving services through Hunter College’s Minority-Disability Alliance (MIND Alliance) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Results: CSE was a partial mediator between functional disability and life satisfaction. After controlling for CSE, functional disability was no longer a significant predictor of life satisfaction.

Conclusions: CSE partially mediated the impact of functional disability on life satisfaction. Future research should explore the development of interventions to increase CSE to reduce the effect of disability and to improve life satisfaction and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Purpose: To evaluate Chan, Gelman, Ditchman, Kim, and Chiu’s (2009) revised World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model using core self-evaluations (CSE) to account for Personal Factors in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Method: One hundred eighty-seven adults with SCI were recruited to take an online survey including measurement scales representing each component of the revised ICF model: Functioning, Activities, Participation, Environmental Factors, Personal Factors, and Quality Of Life. Path analysis was used to evaluate the hypothesized relationships among the ICF components.

Results: A respecified path model revealed a strong model-to-data fit, χ²(3, N = 187) = 6.84; p = .08; goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = .99; comparative fit index (CFI) = .99; and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .08. Taking into account all of the ICF components, CSE had the strongest direct effect on life satisfaction (β = .40, p < .01).

Conclusion: This study supports CSE as a significant and direct predictor of life satisfaction in persons with SCI, indicating that CSE may be an important target for intervention in a biopsychosocial approach toward SCI rehabilitation. These findings provide a basis for future research to investigate the role of CSE in quality of life among people with varying health conditions.

Using the Counselor Trainee Attitudes Measure (CTAM) to assess student attitudes toward alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA), results indicated that students had more positive attitudes toward AODA when they were in recovery or had a family member in recovery. Furthermore, completion of AODA related courses predicted more positive attitudes toward AODA. Undergraduate versus graduate standing also appear to play a role in model adherence.

This study examines 137 state vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors' perceptions of the value of having the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) credential. While almost 53% of this sample included persons who were certified, the majority who were not indicated that the two major reasons for not currently having this designation were: (a) it was not required to be employed as a state VR counselor and (b) they planned to get it. In terms of perceived encouragement by master's degree program faculty to pursue the CRC credential, results reveal that for this group of vocational rehabilitation counselors, this influence did not have a substantial impact on CRC obtainment. Implications for the rehabilitation counseling field/education are discussed.

Purpose: In this article, I explore how the therapeutic alliance, along with culturally competent and adapted skill use can be positively correlated with treatment outcome when using the ecological validity model as the frame. The ecological validity model refers to the degree to which there is consistency between the environment as experienced by the individual of racial minority status who possesses a disability and the properties of the environment the counselor assumes it has.

Method: Based on a comprehensive literature review and theoretical integration, I have provided the readers with a brief review of cultural adaptation, cultural competence, and common factor skills through the structure of the ecological validity model with the purpose of enhancement of interventions to persons of different racial and ethnic backgrounds with disabilities.

Results: There is an emerging opportunity in the field of rehabilitation counseling for research and enhanced clinical practice in use of culturally competent-adapted interventions in enhancing the therapeutic alliance through use of the ecological validity model.

Conclusions: The ecological validity model provides a theoretical framework for understanding research and clinical implications related to the promulgation of interventions via culturally adapted therapeutic alliance skills.

Veterans with disabilities have gained national attention in recent years because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This study examined certified rehabilitation counselors’ (CRCs ) knowledge and preparation for working with veterans with disabilities on their rehabilitation. Results indicate that CRCs report low levels of preparation in some of the areas deemed important by veterans and professionals. However, CRCs report high knowledge in many important areas to work effectively with veterans with disabilities.

Purpose: This mixed-methods study assesses an innovative course design model that integrates community site visits and service-learning at the introductory level for Undergraduate Rehabilitation Education (URE) students (n = 44).

Method: The authors used a survey design to analyze service-learning outcomes and civic attitudes to evaluate the course design. A panel of three independent raters analyzed student weekly papers based on research rubrics of the course objectives created by the authors.

Results: The results demonstrate that the model is effective in altering student cognitive schemes about human service populations and encouraging students to synthesize academic knowledge and immersive experiences.

Conclusions: The study provides evidence for the design of integrating service-learning and site visits throughout the entire semester of an introductory course. This design is what we theorize specifically allowed for the two outcomes of primary importance, altered cognitive schemes about human services populations and synthesis of academic and experiential knowledge.

This study aimed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the stress levels and life satisfaction of individuals with disabilities and what role social support plays in mitigating these impacts. Data from individuals with disabilities (n = 600) were extracted from a larger international cross-sectional survey study. Regression analyses were conducted to examine how personal and environmental factors contributed to stress levels and life satisfaction changes during the pandemic. Mediation analyses were used to test whether social support mediated the association between stress level and life satisfaction. The negative impact of the pandemic, having a psychiatric disability, being a female, and being younger significantly predicted stress levels. Moreover, the negative impact of the pandemic and stress levels significantly predicted life satisfaction. The relationship between stress levels and life satisfaction was mediated by social support from significant others and friends. There is an urgent need to provide training and education for healthcare professionals, families, and caregivers on the basic aspects of mental health care, developing time-limited and culturally-sensitive mental health interventions, and strategies for expanding the social support system for the population. Broad dissemination of effective therapeutic strategies is crucial in mitigating the negative psychosocial impact of the pandemic.

Purpose: Physical, mental, and financial barriers among individuals with disability may limit their access to fruit and vegetable. In this study, we examined the relationship between disability status and vegetable, fruit, and fruit juice intake among U.S. adults aged 18 years and older using a large nationally representative sample.

Methods: Participants came from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2011 wave, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Outcomes included self-report daily vegetable, fruit, and pure fruit juice consumption frequency. Disability status was classified into 7 categories: limited in activities caused by physical, mental, or emotional problems (AL); health problem requiring use of special equipment (HP); either AL or HP; both AL and HP; unable to work because of disability or other reasons (UN); AL and HP and UN; and no disability (no AL or HP or UN). The associations between consumption and disability were estimated in multivariate regressions controlling for sociodemographics, body weight, and survey month/state and accounting for survey design.

Results: U.S. adults with disability consumed vegetable and fruit significantly less frequently than those without disability. Across disability categories, daily vegetable consumption frequency among people with disability was 4%–15%, and daily fruit consumption frequency 7%–18% lower than people without disability. Fruit juice consumption frequency appeared slightly higher among people with disability, indicating some substitution effect. Part of the disparities in diet tends to be explained by the differences in education, marital status, and income between people with and without disability.

Conclusions: Using recent data from a large nationally representative health survey, we found American adults with disability to consume fruit and vegetable significantly less frequently than those without disability. Policy interventions are warranted to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among people with disability and reduce disparities.

The experience of living with multiple sclerosis (MS) can have a profound effect on employment. The impact of MS is a complex interaction of personal, medical, functional, financial, and psychosocial variables that ultimately results in up to 80% of persons with MS leaving their jobs within 10 years of their diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the employment status of applicants with MS who were seeking services from state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies could be classified based on the type of services provided. A quantitative descriptive research design employing discriminant analysis (DA) was used to determine differential services received by employed and unemployed applicants with MS. Findings indicate that persons with MS who were employed at application were more likely to receive services geared toward career stabilization (i.e., assistive technology/accommodation services, counseling and guidance, and cognitive retraining-type rehabilitative services). Conversely, the unemployed applicant group had a higher propensity to receive services focused on job placement (i.e., job readiness, job seeking, and job placement services). Although a disparity persisted between the average worker in the United States and the outcomes achieved by VR service recipients regarding weekly wages and hours, services provided by the state-federal VR program reduce this disparity. In addition, the return on investment (ROI) associated with providing services to persons with MS was calculated as providing an $8 return for every dollar spent. Persons with MS employed at application had an ROI of more than $10 for every dollar spent. Implications for persons with MS, rehabilitation counselors, health care professionals, and policymakers are provided.

Purpose: The purpose of this multimethod study was to evaluate the institutional research capacity building and infrastructure model (IRCBIM), an emerging innovative and integrated approach designed to build, strengthen, and sustain adequate disability and health research capacity (i.e., research infrastructure and investigators’ research skills) at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) and other minority-serving institutions. Methods: A qualitative case study design was used to evaluate the model based on the perspectives of three different study participant groups (i.e., faculty members, staff/administrators, and students). Semistructured interviews, document review, and observation were used to collect data. Results: The IRCBIM showed promise in improving learning and retention outcomes, creating a pipeline for producing new Indigenous researchers and contributing toward their graduate schools success, and building institutional research environment and prestige. The challenges category addresses overall issues deemed to impede and limit the institution’s disability and health research capacity. Conclusions: The findings support IRCBIM as a promising institutional research capacity building approach. Such sustained efforts, coupled with synergistic long-term federal research agency (i.e., National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research) sponsorship, could empower TCUs to make “new knowledge” contributions to improving employment, community living and participation, and health outcomes among tribal community members with disabilities.

Purpose: To determine what disability-inclusive policies and practices employers have in place and examine the relationship between these practices and the actual recruitment and hiring of persons with disabilities.

Method: A survey 675 of human resources professionals who were members of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Results: After controlling for organizational characteristics, 9 of the 10 specific recruitment and hiring practices/policies examined in this study were found to significantly increase the likelihood of hiring individuals with disabilities.

Conclusions: The findings inform rehabilitation professionals who interface regularly with businesses regarding good practices for finding and hiring qualified candidates.

Current distance learning technological advances allow real and virtual classrooms to unite. In this program evaluation study, focus group, participatory action, and qualitative research strategies (Yin, 1994) were used to explore the quality and benefits of infusing elements of three distance learning modalities into the traditional rehabilitation counseling classroom. Participants were students with multiple experiences in hybrid classes in which in-person instruction was integrated with at least one distance learning modality. The distance learning alternatives involved were interactive television, web-conferencing using a live stream from interactive television, the learning management system (e. g., Blackboard) and/or the collaboration platform or enhancement to learning management system (e. g., Elluminate). Student feedback was generated on the quality and effectiveness of hybrid models, as well as on the benefits and advantages of these models for rehabilitation education in the rural area served. Results indicate that the modalities can be integrated while maintaining discernible quality and learning effectiveness. Most notably, hybrid models may have distinct advantages over the traditional classroom in isolated rural regions and students who for a variety of reasons find it difficult to meet in traditional classrooms. Students with specialized interests can be linked to each other and to needed resources.

Historically, distance education applications served a select group of students through self-paced technical short courses that required scant to little interaction with their instructors. Today's 21st century distance education focuses on a) reaching underserved prospective students within a social justice framework, b) global recruitment, and c) interactive technological applications and interactive teaching strategies that promote the creation of cyber-learning communities. This paper provides the reader with an overview of current distance education and modified traditional course delivery modalities followed by the application of the DIPCO model to rehabilitation education.

Background: The use of technology-mediated distance supervision is a rapidly growing area in rehabilitation counseling and other fields. Distance supervision has both tremendous potential and notable challenges to address, including questions of ethics and evidence.

Purpose: This article examines both the ethical and nonethical principles that rehabilitation counseling programs should consider when implementing distance supervision, such as evidence-based practice, competency, confidentiality, informed consent, and access to supervision.

Conclusions: Despite its growing popularity, little empirical evidence exists to support the use of distance supervision as an equivalent and empirically supported means of providing clinical supervision. Suggestions for programs on how to move distance supervision forward as an evidence-based and ethically sound component of rehabilitation counseling are included.

This article provides a historical overview of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AAPISIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). A review of the history of MSIs and their inception is covered. Also, trends in federal support for MSIs is provided to gain a better understanding of the importance of these institutions to the field of rehabilitation counseling. A historical perspective of rehabilitation counselor education programs is provided including the role of the Council on Rehabilitation Education. Implications for additional empirical research are provided.

We reviewed 11 well-recognized counseling theories, seeking those that best fit requirements of rehabilitation counselors and clients. We looked specifically for methods that were goal-oriented, supported counselor-client collaboration, and were person-centered, brief, and evidence based. Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) fit our criteria on four of five dimensions. We describe these two counseling modalities and illustrate techniques, using hypothetical examples from rehabilitation counseling contexts, and provide specific recommendations for rehabilitation educators.

Purpose: To examine the experiences of international rehabilitation counseling graduates who had returned to their home countries or had moved to other countries to work. The study focused on their perceptions of the effectiveness of the training they had received in the United States.

Method: A qualitative methodology was used to conduct the study. There were 5 participants interviewed, and data from interviews were analyzed and coded.

Results: 6 themes emerged from data analysis: (a) lack of training programs in home countries, (b) support received from faculty members, (c) level of satisfaction with curriculum, (d) classroom experiences, (e) opportunities offered by the training program, and (f) difficulties applying the U.S. training to other countries.

Conclusion: The study indicated that the participants had varied perceptions about the effectiveness of the training they had received in the United States. Implications for training international rehabilitation counseling students are discussed.

Background: Youth with disabilities who have at least one paid work experience during high school are more than twice as likely to be employed after high school. However, barriers exist that limit work opportunities for youth with disabilities and subsequent entry to work as part of their adult lives.

Objective: The study identified secondary education services that have been found to be scientifically valid and effective in improving transition to work of youth with disabilities.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted of secondary services provided to transition-age youth with disabilities associated with employment outcomes. The final full-text review consisted of 30 articles.

Findings: Findings describe five major themes related to secondary education services associated with employment. These themes are work experience, independence and autonomy, IEP and transition planning process, student characteristics, and medical restoration services.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that secondary education services are effective in improving the transition to work for transition-age youth with disabilities. Recommendations are made for educators, rehabilitation professionals, and school administrators to enhance the rates of youth with disabilities in finding and maintaining meaningful employment.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the current literature regarding the vocational rehabilitation services found effective in promoting employment among transition-age youth with disabilities as well as identifying factors affecting the effectiveness of those services.

Methods: This study utilized the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to theoretically and methodologically ground the systematic review. Through a three-stage filtering process, 35 studies were identified that helped identify common and effective vocational rehabilitation services for transition-aged youth.

Findings: Three major themes were observed in the review of literature: validated vocational rehabilitation services, vocational rehabilitation counselor factors, and demographic variables.

Conclusions: Additional research is needed in the role of disability severity as a variable of successful service provision. Further identifying successful vocational services for varying levels of disability severity will provide vocational rehabilitation consumers with more individualized options and has the potential to increase positive case closure rates. Lastly, research indicated a need for continued training of VR counselors to ensure they are meeting the needs of their consumers.

Objectives: To examine the effect of rehabilitation technology interventions on the employment or job retention outcomes of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) served by the state-federal vocational rehabilitation program using a case-control study design.

Participants: Data for this study were extracted from the Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report database. The sample included 8,715 individuals with MS aged between 16 and 64 years old whose cases were closed between the fiscal years of 2007 and 2011.

Outcome measure: Competitive employment.

Results: The classification and regression tree method identified 5 homogeneous subgroups ranging from high to low propensity to receive rehabilitation technology services. Specifically, individuals with MS employed at application were most likely to receive rehabilitation technology intervention. The effect of rehabilitation technology on job retention was especially strong for individuals aged 35 years or older with a college education.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that rehabilitation technology is an effective service for enhancing job retention outcomes of middle-aged and older adults with MS and provide valuable information for policymakers, health care providers, rehabilitation counselors, and educators.