Introduction to REHABILITATION Psychology

1. Rehabilitation
Psychology
NOOR.
Lecturer Psychology.

2. • Rehabilitation psychology is the study and application of psychological principles on
behalf of persons who have disability due to injury or illness.
• Rehabilitation Psychology focuses on the overall rehabilitation process that
concentrates on restoring the injured person's mental condition to a healthy status. It
focuses on removing any phobias, anxieties, or self-doubts arising out of the disability.
• Rehabilitation psychologists, often within teams, assess and treat cognitive, emotional,
and functional difficulties, and help people to overcome barriers to participation in life
activities.
• Rehabilitation psychologists are involved in practice, research, and advocacy, with the
broad goal of fostering independence and opportunity for people with disabilities

3. • It “Aims to restore, compensate, prevent or slow deterioration in functioning (sensory,
physical, intellectual, mental, cognitive, or social) to help individuals to reach their
optimal levels.”
• It “Refers to services, and programmes designed to assist individuals who have
experienced trauma or illness that results in an impairment that creates a loss of
function (physical, psychological, social or vocational).”
• “A process to restore mental and/or physical abilities lost to injury or disease in order
to function in a normal or near-normal way
• Rehabilitation is the process of helping an individual achieve the highest level of
function, independence, and quality of life possible.

4. • According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rehabilitation is one of the
essential components of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which features alongside
“promotion of good health, prevention of diseases, treatment and palliative care”.
Thus, rehabilitation focuses on achieving functional independence in activities of daily
living (ADL), participation in work, recreation and education, with individuals being
able to achieve meaningful roles in daily life. Clearly, rehabilitation is pivotal in achieving
not only individual health benefits, but an overall universal health goal that permits the
building of a healthy and functional global population.
• "a set of measures that assist individuals who experience, or are likely to experience,
disability to achieve and maintain optimal functioning in interaction with their
environments.”
• Rehabilitation is then a "set of interventions designed to optimize functioning in
individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment"

5. • Health conditions can refer to disease (acute or chronic), injury or trauma, which may
also include other circumstances such as pregnancy, ageing, stress, congenital anomaly,
or genetic predisposition. Anyone with a health condition who experiences some form
of limitation in functioning, such as mobility, vision, or cognition, may need
rehabilitation. As such rehabilitation is best characterized through use of
the biopsychosocial model through the use of interventions that address impairments,
activity limitations and participation restrictions, considering contextual factors both
personal and environmental, including assistive technology that impact functioning.
• 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. By the 1960s, rehabilitation
psychology was considered a mature specialty and was prominent throughout the
United States. However, it was not until 1997 that the American Board of Professional
Psychology approved the establishment of the American Board of Rehabilitation
Psychology

6. Goals of Rehabilitation
• At the user level, information on functioning guides goal setting and outcome
evaluation across the continuum of rehabilitation care (primary, secondary and
tertiary), and in the treatment phases (acute care, post-acute care and long-term
care).
• At the facility or programme level, information on functioning from users can be
aggregated to help monitor clinical outcomes and improve service planning and
quality assurance.
• At the policy level, aggregated clinical information on functioning gives policy-
makers a source of evidence for planning health and rehabilitation services and
monitoring their impact.

7. • Focuses on good outcomes that are set by the people we treat and driven by
their goals
• Centers on people’s needs, not their diagnosis
• Aims high and includes vocational outcomes
• Is an active and enabling process – not passive care
• Relies on interdisciplinary team working
• Responds to changes in people’s needs
• Integrates specialist and generalist services
• Requires leadership for transformational change
• Gives hope

8. Rehabilitation Objectives
Rehabilitation objectives include:
• Prevention of the loss of function
• Slowing the rate of loss of function
• Improvement or restoration of function
• Compensation for loss of function (compensatory strategies)
• Maintenance of current function

9. Rehabilitation Elements
• Dietz described four elements of rehabilitation in relation to people with
cancer, which has now been utilized and applied across rehabilitation for a
wide range of conditions. The elements are as follow
1. Preventive
2. Restorative
3. Supportive
4. Palliative

10. 1. Preventative Rehabilitation
Occurs shortly after a new diagnosis or onset of new impairments. The aim is
to provide education, advice and interventions to prevent or slow onset of
further impairments and maintain a person’s level of ability. This is a common
form of rehabilitation in long-term conditions, such as Cancer, Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Diabetes and many neurological
conditions. It also underpins supported self-management and can include
interventions aimed at maintaining function for as long as possible

11. 2. Restorative Rehabilitation
• Restorative rehabilitation focuses on interventions that improve impairments
such as muscle strength or respiratory function and cognitive impairment to
get maximal recovery of function. This is a common form of rehabilitation
after surgery, illness or acute events such as a major trauma or a stroke in
order to maximize function.

12. 3. Supportive Rehabilitation
• Supportive rehabilitation increases a person’s self-care ability and mobility
using methods such as providing self-help devices and teaching people
compensatory strategies or alternative ways of doing things. This may
include the provision of assistive equipment or environmental modifications.
This is sometimes referred to as adaptive rehabilitation.

13. 4. Palliative Rehabilitation
• Palliative rehabilitation enables people with life limiting conditions to lead a
high quality of life physically, psychologically and socially, while respecting
their wishes. It often focusses on relieving symptoms, such as pain, dyspnea
and edema, preventing contractures, breathing assistance, psychological
wellbeing, relaxation or the use of assistive device, in order to maximize
functional independence and support comfort, dignity and quality of life

14. Range and Scope of Rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation covers an enormous spectrum within our patients’ pathways. It
includes support to learn basic communication skills; exercise classes to improve or
maintain optimum health, wellbeing and occupation; and complex neurological
rehabilitation following major trauma or stroke. Rehabilitation may be appropriate at
any age as a person’s needs change through the course of their life. For example,
they may require support to :
1. Develop New Skills - Children may require help to develop skills (habilitation) in
order to overcome barriers presented by developmental difficulties and health
conditions to achieve maximum health and independence

15. 2. Maintain Skills and Independence - for progressive conditions (such as dementia, motor neuron
disease and terminal cancer), early diagnosis, assessment and rehabilitation intervention can help people to
maintain their skills and independence for as long as possible.
3. Enhance Performance - Rehabilitation will provide the opportunity to enhance performance in
athletes and sports people following injury or time away from sport
4. Recover from Unexpected Illness - such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, acute admission to hospital
following a stroke, surgery, a fall, chest infections and cardiac events.
5. Recover from Major Trauma - Rehabilitation and reablement help people to regain and maximise their
skills and independence, including returning to work
6. Manage Long-term Conditions - When people with a chronic or long-term condition become
unexpectedly ill or have an exacerbation, they benefit from rehabilitation intervention to help them regain
or maximise their independence.
7. Self-manage Conditions - People with a chronic or long-term condition are enabled to manage their
own health and reduce the risk of developing secondary complications affecting either their mental or
physical health, such as loss of strength and cardiovascular fitness, contractures, pressure ulcers, pain,
anxiety and depression
8. Access Advocacy - People who are vulnerable and need support (such as those with cognitive
impairment or communication difficulties) are offered advocacy as part of their rehabilitation interventions

16. References
• https://www.physio-pedia.com/Introduction_to_Rehabilitation#cite_note-
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