The importance of peer counselling in helping to change attitudes of persons with disabilities

Abstract

People who become physically disabled are, to varying degrees, also psychologically traumatised. The writer, who has ten years of working experience in the Spinal Unit agrees with Weller and Miller (1997) that these people experience feelings of shock, denial, depression and anger before they are able to adjust fully to their disability and to a condition of acceptance . A greater awareness of the importance of social and emotional rehabilitation by the rehabilitation proffessionals will enable individual patients to become independent citizens in society. Social and emotional rehabilitation is imperative as disability and impairment affect a person's total being. Peer counselling is an important and necessary tool to help change the attitudes of persons with disabilities. Many rehabilitation professionals use former patients with great success to discuss and share these experiences with new patients. According to to Myrick (1978), peer counselling is a necessary adjunct to the rehabilitation process in which a severely disabled person who has made a successful transition from institutional to independent community living provides resource information, support, understanding and direction to another disabled person who desires to make a similar transition.