Torres, Ayse

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of motivational interviewing
(MI) counselor training in a public vocational rehabilitation (VR) setting. Data were
collected from a total of 347 participants (67 counselors and 280 clients) in the
experimental and comparison groups, during the pre-and-posttests. The counselors in the
experimental group received a 4-hour standardized MI training and a 4-week follow up
coaching sessions. Results of this study indicated that counselors in the experimental
group demonstrated significant gains in their MI competence scores compared to the
comparison group. The clients of the experimental group’s counselors significantly
improved their engagement in VR services and working alliance with their counselors.
Also, counselors’ education level and CRC status showed strong correlation with the
posttest MI competence total scores. Finally, working alliance was found to be a
significant predictor of client engagement. This study established the preparatory knowledge for the relationship between MI
counselor training, client engagement, and counselor-client working alliance in a public
rehabilitation setting. The results of this study contribute to the rehabilitation literature by
providing evidence-based knowledge and tools designed to improve the quality of VR
service outcomes, such as employment, for people with disabilities. With the findings of
this research, there is evidence available to provide rehabilitation administrators to justify
investing time and other resources into training rehabilitation counselors on the use of MI
intervention.

This article seeks to determine the effectiveness of rehabilitation counseling in the
adjustment to disability process of returning Iraq and Afghanistan military service members with
disabilities. Psychosocial adaptation to disability is the process by which individuals respond to
changes (e.g., functional, psychological, social) that occur subsequent to the onset of disability or
chronic illness (Bishop, 2005). The ultimate goal of rehabilitation counseling, as it relates to
psychosocial adaptation to disability, is to help clients achieve a state of overall adjustment
whereby they move beyond physical losses to value existing abilities (Livneh & Antonak, 1997;
Wright, 1983). Veterans are one of the groups that benefit from rehabilitation counseling.
Approximately 2.2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed as part of the Iraq and
Afghanistan operations (Institute of Medicine March 2013 Report). It is estimated that for every
military personnel killed in these wars, there are at least sixteen wounded, and many will return
to the United Sates with some type of disability (Frain, 2010). Rehabilitation counselors work in
numerous Department of Veterans Affairs settings: rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient clinics,
and Veteran Benefits Administration’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program
(Patterson, 2009). Through these services, rehabilitation counselors assist veterans with
disabilities to prepare for and find jobs, or improve the quality of their lives. The research will
explore the correlation between injured veterans’ adjustment to disability levels and participation
in rehabilitation services. In this ongoing research the data is being collected through an internet
survey.