Use of the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation by Rehabilitation Counselors

Rehabilitation counselors function in a variety of roles while employing many different competencies in the provision of services (Leahy, Chan, & Saunders, 2002). A major function of rehabilitation counselors is the development of counseling relationships to facilitate adjustment to disability. Critical to the adjustment process, but often overlooked, is client resiliency. Resiliency is associated with ability to adapt to disability (Lustig, 1997), which in turn is essential to effective rehabilitation counseling services and successful outcomes (Kosciulek, 1994). Further, one important component of individual resiliency is the resiliency of the family in adjusting when a family member acquires a disability. Recognizing the importance of the family in adjustment to disability, the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE) has called for family resiliency to become a focus of research in rehabilitation (Muzzio, 2004). The Council of Rehabilitation Education (CORE, 2004) has also recognized the need to understand the impact of the family in rehabilitation in the most recent CORE accreditation standards. There seems to be consensus among rehabilitation professionals that that the lifelong well-being of individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses rests in large part on family influences and support. While the importance of working with families within the rehabilitation process has been consistently suggested in the literature, limited progress has been made in actually including families in service delivery (e.g., Degeneffe & Lynch, 2006; Kelly & Lambert, 1992). Rehabilitation professionals continue to focus primarily on the individual, with little emphasis on training and supporting family members in care-taking and supporting roles, an approach that parallels the medical model of care (DeJong, Batavia, & Williams, 1990). Rehabilitation professionals indicate a need for dealing with the psychosocial and cultural effects of disability on the family, but indicate more training is necessary to fulfill these functions (Chan, Leahy, Saunders, Tarvydas, Ferrin & Lee, 2003). Often the family is viewed by professionals as obstructing client ability to deal with adjustment and face the reality of new life situations and demands associated with disabilities and to successfully return to the work world (Freedman & Fesko, 1996). Professionals may not appreciate and understand the impact that families may have on employment choices and behaviors, and may fail to recognize the positive influences of families that may be capitalized upon in facilitating successful transition, adaptation, and employment. Application of a family resiliency model offers an alternative to the more limited individual focus that many rehabilitation professionals often employ. To illustrate the benefits of one such resiliency model, we provide an overview of the following: (a) the effects of disability on the families; (b) an introduction to the concept of family resiliency and the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation; (c) how this model can shape rehabilitation counseling services; and (d) the implications of the Resiliency Model in rehabilitation counseling. By incorporating the information provided herein, rehabilitation counselors can develop a more holistic, comprehensive approach toward optimizing vocational success and life satisfaction among persons with disabilities. Disability and Family A number of authorities have long advocated that family involvement is pivotal to the long-term success of persons with disabilities (e.g., Kosciulek, 1994: Wright, 1960). Rehabilitation professionals have recognized that families can be the "most powerful and enduring" (Krauss & Seltzer, 1993, p. 18) influence in the lives of people with disabilities (e.g., Kelley & Lambert, 1992; Power & Dell Orto, 1980). Additional research provides evidence supporting the roles of family in the rehabilitation process. …