Adjustment to Disability Can Improve With Counseling

Adjusting to a new diagnosis and learning new ways of self-care can be a difficult, complex, and emotional process at any age. Receiving help along the way from a Professional Counselor can increase the chances of successful adjustment, and improve outcomes.

Grief is a normal response to a loss of any type. When a child experiences a severe or chronic medical condition, losses are often experienced by the entire family. Understanding the grieving process can make it easier for everyone to work through it. It is especially important for Children to have the opportunity to express their emotions, and time to work through them in play. Siblings may also experience emotional difficulties as a witness to the difficulties of the patient.

Habits can hinder or support efforts at self-care. Sometimes self-destructive habits are formed to meet emotional needs, or activities undertaken regularly become charged with emotional meaning. When changes in health require changes in self-care, habits can cause difficulty with making the needed changes. An added difficulty for children occurs when changes affect their interactions with friends.

An increased need for consistency can provide a challenge for the entire family. Solution-focused counseling can assist individuals and families to explore ways to meet their needs with minimal disruption to their lives, and provide accountability to assist with meeting their goals.

Stress Management can also be an important factor in healing. Research has shown that many health conditions are affected by the stressors present in a person’s life, and the way they are perceived and managed.

Unfortunately, health conditions can also serve to create additional stressors. In addition to changes in personal functioning, there are often changes in relationships with family and friends. Sometimes school and/or work is affected as well. However, stability can be particularly important for children in times of high stress. Sometimes making a series of small changes can be easier than a big changes all at once, and can help to manage the associated stress.

Counseling can assist individuals with exploring solutions for eliminating or reducing these stressors when possible, and finding ways to think differently about the others. Family counseling can help everyone in the household to deal with changes that affect the entire family system.

Individuals can also learn to use techniques to relax and release tension so that it does not build up in their bodies and damage their health. Recreation is often neglected in modern life, and setting goals for balancing school, work, and play can have important benefits in the area of stress management.

Janet Kaye Love, MSSW, MBA, LPC, NCC is a Professional Counselor who works with youth and adults in ability minorities to assist them in reaching their full potential. She also provides programs to educate the public and professional care givers about related issues.

© Janet Kaye Love 20077333 East Highway 290 Suite 103Austin, TX 78723512-782-2943www.WingsOfTheCurve.com

Permission granted to distribute for therapeutic purposes, as long as no changes are made to any part of the document including contact information.