Consumer Participation in Rehabilitation: An Unresolved Issue

Abstract

Despite recent trends away from the traditional medical model of service delivery, there appears to be a continuing reluctance among some rehabilitation professionals to fully enable people with disabilities to co-manage their own rehabilitation programmes. These same professionals may remain unaware that their behaviour discourages their clients from taking greater responsibility for solving problems and achieving goals of living. Contradictions in the beliefs and behaviour of service providers is, at grass roots level, perhaps exemplified by their adherence to formal case-team meetings which exclude service recipients. The need to re-define and alter the format of these conferences is the focus of this paper.