disability

Dealing with the Stigma of Hearing Impairment

One in six Australians has hearing loss, and the projection is that one in four will have it by 2050, as our population ages (Australian Network on Disability, n.d.). Thus, even if you never have a profoundly deaf client come to your rooms, you are likely to see someone at some stage who is hearing-impaired. If not the client, it may be that the person coming is frustrated because of having to dea... »

Positive Interactive-behaviour Therapy for Intellectual Disability

Given that an estimated 60 percent of persons who have intellectual disability also experience severe communication deficits (AIHW, 2008), the literature on counselling this client group consistently refers to the importance of using “creative approaches” (WWILD, 2012, p 60) which allow the client to respond in both verbal and nonverbal ways. Thus, in addition to “talk therapy&rd... »

User-friendly Therapeutic Strategies for Intellectual Disability

What can a therapist do in session to make any therapy more intellectually attainable, or user-friendly, to someone who has at least cognitive limitations, but who also may be struggling with communicative deficits, sensory impairment, and/or psychological conditions? Morasky (2007) proposes a series of dimensions along which strategies can be evolved to adapt counselling and therapy (and he says,... »

Family Issues When There is Disability, Illness, or Serious Injury

Have you ever experienced anyone in your family becoming seriously ill or disabled? Chances are that it was a difficult time for you. When a family member is stricken with a physical injury, illness or disability, the ramifications of that change go far beyond the physical, often causing deep-level re-alignment of membership roles, responsibilities, and expectations as the family deals with the pr... »

Supporting People with Chronic Pain

Have you ever had a period in your life when the main thing you recall from it was the relentless pain? What about a period when you were a caregiver for someone with chronic pain? »

Sand Tray Therapy for Clients with Intellectual Disabilities

In the first half of the last century, British paediatrician and child psychiatrist Margaret Lowenfeld utilised sand and water in combination with small toys to help children express “the inexpressible” after reading H.G. Wells’ observation that his two sons would work out family problems playing on the floor with miniature figures (Zhou, 2009). »

Working with Clients with Intellectual Disability

Are you as a mental health professional aware of the needs of clients with intellectual disabilities? Do you know what generally constitutes “impairment”, “disability”, or “activity limitation”? Would you be aware of special considerations or needs that such a client might have in a counselling context? »

Children and Learning Disorders

There are many forms of disabilities that can affect the child’s normal developmental process. Some disabilities can be more severe than others. A common type of disability hindering a child’s development is a learning disorder. Having such a disorder can be painful for children as they have to deal the disconnections they may be experiencing from thought, expression and creativity, bo... »

Counselling Dilemma: A Highly Stressed Client

A client comes to you having had to quit work due to a degenerative visual impairment. He has a 3 year-old child and his wife is expecting another baby. His sight may continue to deteriorate or it may remain at the current level. He is suffering stress, feelings of grief and loss and anxiety about the future. »

A Case of Stressful Life Change

Author: Jane Barry A précis of the sessions is as follows. For ease of writing the Professional Counsellor is abbreviated to “C”. »