Rehabilitation Psychology,Then and Now

Abstract

As an academic discipline, rehabilitation psychology began in the 1950s and 1960s when federal support was made available for the creation of graduate training programs. This review summarizes some of the work of pioneers in the field and notes that most of their contributions were derived from case studies. The author describes professional experiences as a rehabilitation psychologist in hospital and academic settings, from the early years until 1983, when the program in rehabilitation psychology at the University of Kansas was effectively terminated. He also proposes that knowledge in rehabilitation psychology can be organized conceptually along a continuum of research methods and that the case study approach should be restored to a place of legitimacy as a source of information about individuals.

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