Purpose: In this article, we describe how four recent models of psychosocial adaptation to chronic illness and disability (CID) could be fruitfully conceptualized and compared by resorting to the general framework of Lewin’s field theory—a theory frequently regarded as a precursor and the primary impetus to the development of the field of somatopsychology.

Method: Based on a comprehensive literature review and theoretical integration, we have provided the reader with a brief review of Lewin’s field theory and its applications to rehabilitation and psychosocial adaptation to CID, highlighted the main components of the four models of psychosocial adaptation to CID, and reviewed the models through the theoretical lens of Lewin’s theory.

Results: Lewin’s field theory provides a robust and viable theory to conceptualize psychosocial adjustment for CID. Research and clinical implications to practicing rehabilitation counselors and researchers based on the conceptual and practical synergy formed through the understanding of psychosocial adaptation to CID within Lewin’s theoretical framework have also been provided.

Conclusions: Lewin’s field theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding research and clinical implications related to psychosocial adaptation for individuals with CID.

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 demographic, functional, and clinical multiple sclerosis (MS) variables affecting employment status in a national sample of adults with MS in the United States.

Method: The sample included 4,142 working-age (20–65 years) Americans with MS (79.1% female) who participated in a national survey. The mean age of participants was 51.93 years (SD = 8.7). The dependent variable was employment status. The predictor variables included a set of demographic, functional, and MS variables.

Results: The chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) analysis indicated that participants who were receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) had significantly lower rates of employment (8.6%) than those who were not receiving SSDI (53.9%). For those not receiving SSDI, the most important factor predicting employment status was MS impact on physical functioning, as measured with the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale Physical Impact scale.

Conclusion: The data-mining approach (i.e., CHAID analysis) provided detailed information and insight about interactions among demographic, functional, and clinical variables and employment status through the segmentation of the sample into mutually exclusive homogeneous subgroups. Implications for rehabilitation intervention, based on these subgroupings, are discussed.

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.

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.