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The importance of hope in coping with severe acquired disability
- Author:
- DORSETT Pat
- Journal article citation:
- Australian Social Work, 63(1), March 2010, pp.83-102.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Traditionally, adjustment to a serious injury such as spinal cord injury has been conceptualised as staged grieving process. Hope, in this tradition, is commonly defined as denial and considered counterproductive to positive adjustment. However, these concepts are challenged by the observation that hope is a common expression even in the face of extremely confronting physical, social and environmental challenges following spinal cord injury. This paper presents qualitative data about the role of hope from the perspective of the person with spinal cord injury and considers the theoretical and clinical aspects of hope in the coping process. The data presented are a subset of data from a 10 year longitudinal study of a sample of 46 people with spinal cord injury. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted at discharge from hospital, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months post-discharge and again at 10 years post discharge. Results showed that 73% of the participants identified hope as an essential factor that helped them cope following their injury. Three main foci of hope emerged from the data set: hope for a complete recovery; hope for a cure; and hope for a satisfying quality of life. Hope emerged as a strong theme in the overall adjustment and coping process. Clinical implications for working with people who sustain spinal cord injury are discussed. It is recommended that interventions that support and facilitate hope need to be developed and tested.
Exploring occupational adaptation through the lives of women with multiple sclerosis
- Authors:
- CAHILL Mairead, CONNOLLY Deirdre, STAPLETON Tadhg
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(3), March 2010, pp.106-115.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects people's physical capabilities and the lives of people with MS are constantly changing (Finlayson et al 2005), yet how people adapt to the disease from an occupational perspective has received little attention. This study explored the occupational adaptation of women with MS. Seven women with MS were recruited from the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland. Each participant completed the Modified Interest Checklist (Kielhofner and Neville 1983), the Role Checklist (Oakley et al 1985) and the Occupational Questionnaire (Smith et al 1986). Qualitative data were also collected, using the Occupational Performance History Interview - II (Kielhofner et al 2004). Three main themes emerged: the impact of MS on (i) performance capacity, (ii) roles and (iii) interests. The participants adapted by performing interests and roles differently and developing new meaningful interests and roles that were congruent with their performance capacity. The findings highlight the importance of having an understanding of the impact of different types of MS on the occupational adaptation process. A greater understanding will facilitate occupational therapists in enabling people with MS to adapt to their condition by engaging in meaningful occupations throughout the lifespan.
Spouses of persons with spinal cord injury: impact and coping
- Authors:
- BEAUREGARD Line, NOREAU Luc
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 40(6), September 2010, pp.1945-1959.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the impact of spinal cord injury (SCI) on spouses. Twenty-four spouses (18 women and 6 men) of persons with SCI were interviewed individually using broad, open-ended questions prompting the respondents to describe the impact of the partner’s disability on their life. Analysing the interviews revealed that the impact of SCI is focused primarily on three main areas: leisure, domestic tasks and family responsibilities, and sexuality. Spouses apply several strategies to overcome the difficulties they encounter, such as setting aside time for hobbies without the spouse, hiring staff to reduce the increased task load, reshuffling roles to coincide with the capabilities of the person with the spinal cord injury, and maintaining open, honest communication with one's spouse on the topic of sexuality. The article concludes that these techniques, implemented and proven by these spouses, can be used as courses of action for clinical practitioners who work with spouses of people with disabilities in order to help them achieve a healthy balance in their life.
Valuing older people: positive psychological practice
- Author:
- STIRLING Elspeth
- Publisher:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 213p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Chichester
A global guide to positive psychological practice when dealing with older and very old people. The author, previously a clinical psychologist, champions social role valorisation (SRV) in relation to older people and ageing. SRV theory is based on opposing society’s tendency to devalue particular groups of people because they are ‘different. The author applies it, not only to counteract stereotyped attitudes that older people are valueless, but to promote beneficial effects of having our elders active in society and observing and learning from, for example, their coping behaviour. Chapters cover: the psychology and ecology of ageing; preventive psychology in later life; assessment in the new paradigm; new paradigm principles for intervention; older people and cognitive disabilities; new paradigm principles of service design; and psychological therapies with older people.