Our Purpose

The Division of Rehabilitation Psychology was established in 1958 as an organization of psychologists concerned with the psychological and social consequences of disability, and with ways to prevent and resolve problems associated with disability. Members of Division 22 have diverse research and service interests, and include psychologists working in rehabilitation facilities, medical center hospitals and clinics, colleges and universities, private practices, government programs, social service agencies and schools.

Past, Present & Future

Our Past

• Division 22 was established in 1958, one of the earliest Divisions in APA.
• Psychologists have worked in medical rehabilitation settings for more than a half century, long before psychologists were regularly involved in other health care settings.
• Division 22 members conducted the early research on individual, interpersonal and social changes related to changes in appearance and physical capacity, as well as the social psychology of stereotyping and prejudice faced by persons with disability.
• Division 22 members were among the pioneers helping psychology understand the world of work, how this can be affected by impairment and disability, and issues about vocational rehabilitation.
• Rehabilitation Psychologists have worked to change attitudes towards persons with disability from pity, charity and aversion to understanding, acceptance and "differently abled" expectations.
• Rehabilitation Psychology initiated a focus on issues of children and adolescents with disabilities and chronic conditions, recognizing the need for special health and social carefor these individuals.

The Present

• ABPP in Rehabilitation Psychology established, 1997.
• In a Rehabilitation Psychology primary care model, services are provided to individuals with disability and their families throughout the life span, as needed, in brief interventions.
• Rehabilitation Psychologists work and advocate with persons with disabilities to eliminate attitudinal, policy and physical barriers, and to emphasize employment, environmental access, and social role and community integration.
• Rehabilitation Psychologists conceptualize, test and implement new theoretical understandings of personal and social adjustment to disability, and the interaction with social role and vocational functioning.
• Division 22 organized the APA Conference on Health Care Reform and Psychological Practice in Health Care Settings, 5/94.
• Division 22 played a key role in developing the APA Interdivisional Health Care Committee, 8/96.
• Division 22 Psychological Services and Professional Issues Committee has assumed a leadership role in the APA Practice Directorate's Federal Advocacy Network, 1/94.

Our Future

• Increasing involvement in how data are conceptualized and used to define policy issues, structure and manage health care systems, and understand health- and cost-related consumer decisions in regards to persons with disabilities.
• Increasingly serve as program directors, e.g., in sub-acute traumatic brain injury treatment programs, and in pain management and work restoration programs.
• Formulate new models of psychological service delivery, including home care, para-professionals supervised under practice guidelines and critical paths, and others.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary and multi-agency resources to facilitate self-sufficiency and community integration for persons with disabilities.
• Contribute to injury prevention and health habit promotion to reduce the incidence of disabling conditions.
• Continue to advocate with and for persons with disabilities within a changing health care environment, and build strength through unity with other health care psychologists.