10 Facts About Rehabilitation psychology

Rehabilitation Psychology is a specialty area of psychology aimed at maximizing the independence, functional status, health, and social participation of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions.

Rehabilitation psychology psychologists provide clinical services in varied healthcare settings, including acute care hospitals, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers, assisted living centers, long-term care facilities, specialty clinics, and community agencies.

Specialty of rehabilitation psychology was established well before psychologists were regularly involved in healthcare settings.

Individuals living with disabilities and chronic health conditions needed help to adjust, and rehabilitation psychology emerged to meet these needs using psychological knowledge to help maximize independence, health, and welfare.

In 1954, the Vocational Rehabilitation psychology Act was passed, providing grant funding for research and program development.

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In 1958, Rehabilitation Psychology was established as Division 22 of the American Psychological Association, as an organization of psychologists concerned with the psychological and social consequences of disability, and with the development of ways to prevent and resolve problems associated with disability.

Social psychology: The pioneers in rehabilitation psychology were a diverse group, but many came from the field of social psychology.

Rehabilitation psychology proposed the somatopsychological model, which advocates for interpreting disability within its social context.

Rehabilitation psychology's focus on personal strengths and resiliency has been influential in the field of positive psychology.

Rehabilitation psychology psychologists take into consideration the medical diagnosis, referral question, background history, pre-morbid functioning, current functioning, personality characteristics, and goals.