Traditional theories of stigma and discrimination suggest that members of stigmatized groups internalize public stigma and suffer a loss of self-esteem and self-efficacy. More recent evidence suggests that this internalization, or self-stigma, is not a uniform response across members of stigmatized groups. Some people are not so negatively affected by stigma. They are either relatively indifferent or energized to pursue their goals and advocate for equitable treatment and opportunities. In our work on mental illness stigma, we have developed a model of personal responses to stigma that accounts for this variation. In this paper, we describe this model and discuss considerations for extending it more broadly to the stigma of disabilities. We close by suggesting the models implications for strategies to support empowered responses to disability stigma.

We describe our experiences using a research apprenticeship model, specifically the tripartite model, as an example of how we teach and work with doctoral students. The apprenticeship complements students’ formal course work and introduces them to research and scholarship processes useful for their future roles as rehabilitation counselor educators and researchers. Although various rehabilitation doctoral institutions use some form of apprenticeship experience, the description of these capstone experiences is absent in our literature. Here we provide information about apprenticeship models, introduce a partnership called Project Excellence as an example, and discuss how we use that project as a formal platform for research apprenticeship training in our doctoral program.

This article presents data from a qualitative study of mental illness attitudes and mental health service use in a community sample of African-Americans (N=70). Specifically, we examined cultural factors that shape community norms, including mental illness stigma, attitudes and behaviors. Focus groups were used to examine the influence of culture on broad thematic categories associated with mental illness and mental health service use. The following five thematic categories were examined: (a) descriptive terms and causes of mental illness, (b) cultural norms regarding mental health, (c) attitudes toward mental health service use (d) presence and determinants of mental illness stigma, and (e) strategies for reducing mental illness stigma and increasing access and use of mental health services. Thematic categories were selected based on the applicability of the information for education and stigma reduction intervention programs. Study findings have relevance for the development of culturally appropriate education and stigma change interventions for African-Americans.

Individuals with disabilities such as mental illness face stigma and discrimination from the public in many situations: employment, housing, and health care. In this article, the impact of public mental illness stigma is reviewed. Drawing from sociological and social psychological literatures on stigma, the paper discusses individual-cognitive and institutional-structural models that seek to explain the development and maintenance of mental illness stigma. These models are then framed as strategies which rehabilitation counselors might use to diminish stigma at the public and institutional-structural levels. These strategies include education, protest, consequences, contact, and affirmative action.

This paper discusses the impact of major reforms in Hong Kong on rehabilitation practice and personnel training. Significant changes in policy and legislative measures concerning disability are explained. Key challenges to professional accreditation and personnel training related to rehabilitation are deliberated with illustrations on how tertiary institutes respond to such unprecedented levels of reform in the history of Hong Kong. Implications for American rehabilitation educators and counselors are discussed.

This article presents the historical pertinence of undergraduate education to developing a career ladder within the field of vocational rehabilitation. Support for the relevance is presented through the results of an investigation of baccalaureate-level competence and preparation as perceived by graduates of rehabilitation services programs. Job histories, salary patterns, and career expectations were examined. Rehabilitation alumni included 25% who had disabilities and almost 20% who were members of ethnic minority groups. Undergraduate rehabilitation education is shown to be a part of the rehabilitation career continuum with 57% of the students transferring from community colleges and almost 80% intending to pursue a graduate degree.

Bias toward persons with disabilities (PWD) is of particular interest in the rehabilitation counseling and allied health professions since negative attitudes among providers can marginalize the treatment of PWD. This exploratory study examined the influence of socio-cognitive development, as measured by ego development (Hy & Loevinger, 1996), on attitudes towards PWD, as measured by preferred social distance (Bogardus, 1932). Surveying 102 graduate students in four Allied Health departments, we found that higher ego development was associated with lower preferred social distance. Implications for rehabilitation counselor education are discussed.