rehabilitation counselling - book reviews

8/12/2019 Rehabilitation Counselling - Book Reviews

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CJOT Vol. 53 No. 4

Critical Issues in RehabilitationCounseling. Edited by William G.Emener Ph.D., Adele Patrick, M.A.Ed. and David K. HollingsworthPh.D., Charles C. Thomas, Spring-

field, Illinois, 202 pp, $29.50 (U.S.).Nineteen distinguished American

educators and practitioners sharetheir research, academic, and clinicalexpertise in this review of criticalissues in rehabilitation counseling In addition the three editors whocompiled the information andprepared this book have extensivetraining and experience in the field

of rehabilitation counseling.In part I of the book which is

categorized as An HistoricalPerspective", and which spans thepast sixty years of the developmentof the rehabilitation counseling pro-fession in the U.S.A., it is obvioushow much further developed thewhole rehabilitation counselingscene is in the U.S.A. as comparedto the situation in Canada. For ex-ample: "There are presently over100 master's degree granting pro-

grams, and approximately forty ofthem have received accreditation bythe Council on Rehabilitation Edu-cation". Of course there are exten-sive undergraduate training pro-grams which are continually beingevaluated and studied for their ef-fectiveness and relativity to fieldpractise.

In part II each of the eightchapters was co-authored by a uni-versity - based professional expertand a field - based practitioner ex-

pert. These chapters are set out toenrich the reader's understanding ofthe critical issues and cover: per-sonal philosophy and vocational re-habilitation; job performance; thecounseling process; education andtraining; the "state of being" of re-habilitation counselors; generalistversus specialist issues; evaluatingrehabilitation counselor effecti-veness; administration and supe rv i-sion; and the professional work ofthe rehabilitation counselor.

In part III, the "Afterword andSummary", the editors summarize

and try to tie together any loose endsthat may have evolved in parts I andII.

The original study by DoctorEmener (1981) which prompted thisbook, consisted of conducting inter-views with sixty-one practicing reha-bilitation counselors employed bythe Florida Office of Vocational Re-habilitation. It would seem that thecritical concerns of rehabilitationcounseling presented in this textcould be said to focus upon the

counselor-client interaction as theunit of analysis. Therefore in spiteof the very large difference in the"State of the Art" between Canadaand the U.S.A., many of the prob-lems and issues discussed are basicto both scenes and as the bookquotes "there are problems but theyreadily lend themselves to ultimategrowth than to demise and down-fall."

Marge Murphy, O.T. (C)

Strained Mercy: the Economics ofCanadian Health Care. Robert G.Evans, Butterworth and Company(Canada) Ltd., 2265 Midland Ave-nue, Scarborough, Ontario MI P 4S1,1984, 408 p., $39.95 (Can).

Strained Mercy is a textbook forthose with a serious interest in healtheconomics and a desire to gain moreknowledge about the evolution ofthe particular health care system wefind in Canada. While extremely

interesting, it can hardly be de-scribed as light reading.The book is divided into three

parts. Part I: The Utilization ofHealth Care, Part II: The Provisionof Health Care and Part III: TheGovernance of Health Care.

The author liberally uses graphs,charts, tables and numerous detailedeconomic formulae to support hisstatements particularly in Part I.This makes the section especiallyheavy going for this reader who

has no formal background in eco-nomics. Despite this, the material

presented is addicting in that it hasinspired me to reread the entire textin greater depth at a later date nowthat I have an overview.

The text covers topics such ashealth insurance and it's relationshipto health care utilization and costs;professional ethics, self regulation ofhealth professions and professionalownership of health care `firms' asthey also affect supply, demand andcosts; provider influence on demandfor health care services and

QUALYs (quality adjusted lifeyears) which looks at the issues ofquality versus quantity of life.

Many of the chapters and head-ings in the book are stated as ques-tions. Evans addresses the questionsdirectly and proposes many possibleangles and answers. For example,"Prescribing Appropriateness: In-forming or Manipulating the Physi-cian?". In this section the role of wellinformed pharmaceutical repre-sentatives in keeping the all too busy

physician informed of the myriad ofnew and improved drugs availableis considered. The other side of thequestion deals with the fact that thepharmaceutical company is in busi-ness to sell drugs. Evans reminds usthat there are several built in checkssuch as public regulation and legalliability that shift the balance morein favour of healing the sick thanstrictly profit.

Despite the academic nature ofthis text, the author maintains a

subtle sense of humour. Every sooften he slips in a lighter note suchas a warning in one of his manyfootnotes to "Beware of hobgob-lins " Many of his titles and headingsreflect this humourous nature aswell. In Chapter 12 he heads onesection as follows: "From LifestylePolicy to Health Care Expenditure:Long Chain, Weak Links" and inChapter 14 "Constructive Inconsis-tancy: Papering Over the CracksCan Work".

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CJOT Vol. 53 No. 4

for various types of teaching materi-als are discussed.

The latter part of the book con-centrates on practical application how to simplify oral and writtenmaterials, how to create and useappropriate audiovisual aids, impor-tant considerations in the design ofvisuals and graphics. Of special noteare the chapters on com puter-aidedinstruction and the methodology ofpre-testing educational materials.Each chapter has a summary of keypoints and leads logically into thenext area.

I responded w ith consistent en-thusiasm to this informative text.The material is of primary relevanceand is well referenced. Potential ap-plication includes program planning

and quality assurance procedures inaddition to patient education.In short, Teaching Patients with

Low Literacy Skills addresses theprevelant problem of complianceversus comprehension and providesthe reader with practical copingtools. The authors' theme is Makeit meaningful , and their book doesjust that.

Cary Brown, OTM

A Model of Human Occupation:Theory and A pplication. Gary K iel-hofner, Editor. Williams and Wil-kins, Baltimore, 1985. 509 p. $34.(U.S.).

This book is an excellent compila-tion of all components of the Modelof Human Occupation. There werethirty contributors to the text whichgives a representative view of theapplications of the model and en-courages the reader to apply it toone's own situation.

The purpose of the Model ofHuman Occupation is to provide arepresentation of various structuresand processes that underlie occupa-tional behaviour" and this textclearly speaks to this purpose. Toaccomplish this the book is dividedinto four sections. Th e first presentsthe theoretical tenets of the model.These include the human being as

an open system; open system dy-namics of hum an occupation; andoccupational function and dysfunc-tion. Section two deals with occupa-tional development throughout thelife span. The third provides genericapplications of the m odel which isdescribed as a tool to facilitate clini-

cal thinking and problem solving.Treatment planning, occupationalanalysis and program developmentare the focus of this section. Sectionfour discusses specific applications ofthe model with various disabilitygroups. These are physical disability,psychosocial and paediatric dys-function, dysfunctional older adultsand the m entally retarded. Each ofthese begins with a general overviewof how the components of the model,volition, habituation, and perform-

ance relate to this population andthen moves to a discussion of itsrelevance to specific conditions. Thefirst three sections must be readcompletely, howeve r the appropriatedisability groups can be chosen fromsection four.

Each section begins with an over-view of the content and excellentreferences are provided for eachchapter. Many good case examplesare used throughout and these areanalyzed according to the model.Many tables are used to summarizethe case discussion.

Following section four there is anexcellent workbook which providesten exercises for applying the model.The seven exercises in Section Aemphasize the application of themodel to oneself, while the three inSection B relate to clinical applica-tions of the model through the useof cases.

Finally, an excellent appendix is

provided which contains an instru-ment library. Sixty-four assessmentsare listed and are catalogued accord-ing to title, content, reliability andvalidity, population, and source.This appendix is a goldmine of re-sources for any department. A glos-sary of terms co ncludes the text.

This book is a m ust for all occupa-tional therapists. It provides an ex-cellent, cohesive discussion of amodel w hich is gaining popularity

and teaches us how to approach ourclients in a systemic w ay, based ona sound theoretical basis. Even if youdo not adhere to the model or agreew ith it, the book sh ould be read tosubstantiate your opposition.Thelma Gill, MEd., BScOT., O.T.(C)

Equipm ent for the Disabled; Person-al Care fifth edition Com piled byE.R. W ilshire,Oxfordshire HealthAuthority, Mary MarlboroughLodge, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre,Headington, Oxford 0X3 7LD, Eng-land. 1985, 58 pp., 8.

Equipment for the D isabled: Per-sonal Care is one of a series of 13booklets aimed at presenting infor-mation on aids and equipmen t fordisabled people, their helpers, andthose professionals concerned w iththeir care.

The series is a British one, makingmuch of the equipment listed possi-bly difficult to obtain; how ever, thebooklet is excellent well organizedand well written. It provides wellthought out guidelines for the selec-tion of equipmen t and aids to assistin all areas of personal care. Areascovered include grooming (hair, nail,dental and skin care), bathing (bath-seats, inserts, boards, lifts, acces-sories, rails), toileting, m enstruationand person al aids. It is interestingto note that most of the equip-ment/aids shown have been used bya disabled person and their use as-sessed by a therapist.

Each section has an introduction,excellent points to consider, a de-scription and/or photograph of eachpiece of equipment/aid, where it isavailable, its cost at the time ofcompilation and w hether it is avail-able for export.

Each section concludes with a ref-erence list for further reading. A listof all the distributors' and manufac-turers' addresses is included a t theback of the b ooklet.

The suggestions highlighted in thisbooklet are very good and conse-quently may generate ideas foraids/adaptations that can be easily

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rehabilitation counselling - book reviews

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