The authors speak of eight stages or phases of adaptation that individuals usually go through when they have been in a traumatic event that results in a physical disability. The following is a summary of these stages. The initial stage of adaptation can be characterized by shock. This is esentially a numbness to the event. The client may then move into the next stage which Livneh and Sherwood say is based on anxiety and a panic like reaction to what has taken place.
Most clients move into a denial phase.
Defense mechanisms are utilized in order to deal with the painful realization of the trauma. The client may then become depressed because he or she has now faced the event and all of it's implications. The client may then react in an angry manner than is internalized. He or she will harbor feeling sof guilt and self blame. This blame then takes a turn outward.