Career and Lifestyle Planning in Vocational Rehabilitation Settings

This chapter provides an overview of the structure and function of state vocational rehabilitation agencies and the various services they provide to individuals with disabilities in order to obtain work. Career development, vocational behavior, and employment of individuals with disabilities are complex and dynamic processes that are developmental in nature; they involve the person interacting with the environment and are moderated by social cognitive factors. In this chapter, we attempt to provide an overview of information that is important to understanding career and vocational behavior of people with disabilities and ultimately enhance the career and employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities. In discussing the centrality of work and discussing how work is critical in meeting human needs, rehabilitation counselors gain an understanding that work plays an important role in the individual’s level of mental health and social integration. The Illinois Work and Well-Being Model was introduced as a mechanism that rehabilitation counselors can use in conceptualizing and strategizing the delivery of rehabilitation services. Finally, we briefly describe various interventions and corresponding services that can be used by rehabilitation counselors in facilitating vocational behavior change.