Psychological Approaches in the Management of Spinal Cord Injuries

Abstract

People with spinal cord injuries can experience severe loss of motor, sensory and autonomic functioning. Rehabilitative efforts begin with intensive acute care and aim to finish with placement in the community. The main areas of psychological impact include the emotional, behavioural, cognitive, sensory and social. Psychological services are provided for individual client assessment and treatment, problem-solving, community re-entry meetings, and organization-system management. This paper explores the general areas of impact and the intervention strategies commonly used. A major focus of intervention is the goal-orientated treatment programme. This organizational approach utilizes a key worker system to help identify client needs and generate the goals.