The Rehabilitation Counselor’s Role in Empowering Jobseekers
According to 2015 data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every five adults in the United States (approximately 53 million) has a disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly limits individuals’ ability to perform one or more major life activities, individuals having a history or record of such an impairment, or individuals being perceived as having an impairment. Disability can impact individuals’ ability to function independently through activities of daily living, finding and maintaining employment, and feeling included and supported in their communities.
Rehabilitation counselors work with individuals with disabilities by assisting them with achieving their optimal independence, integration, and participation in the community and world of work to reach personal goals, career aspirations, and perceived quality of life. They encourage personal, social, and economic independence while acknowledging the unique experiences of individuals of various social and cultural backgrounds (Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, 2009*). They abide by the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors while making decisions and delivering services to their clients. Rehabilitation counselors create specific and time-oriented rehabilitation plans that map out their clients’ goals and what the process will entail for them to achieve those goals. Rehabilitation counselors provide services in a variety of settings, including veteran hospitals, mental health facilities, schools, state and federal offices, correctional facilities, public rehabilitation agencies and Workers’ Compensation agencies.
Vocamotive is a vocational rehabilitation and career services firm that works with a wide variety of clients, including unemployed or underemployed jobseekers, worker’s compensation clients, military veterans, and transitional students. Rehabilitation counselors at Vocamotive collaborate with a team of career placement professionals, job developers, résumé and branding specialists and computer instructors to help clients develop job seeking and computer skills in order to find new employment. By working with professionals of various areas of expertise, rehabilitation counselors can address each of their client’s goals and help them enter or return to the workforce. At Vocamotive, we empower our clients to develop a new set of skills to take on new employment experiences.
Rebecca Hanna is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) for Vocamotive, Inc. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Bradley University and Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Northern Illinois University. Her areas of career interests include vocational rehabilitation, transition and disability services, and career counseling and placement.
Message or follow Rebecca on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccanhanna0704
Contact Rebecca via email at: rhanna@vocamotive.com
Learn more about Vocamotive at: www.vocamotive.com
*Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. (2009). Code of professional ethics for rehabilitation counselors. Schaumburg, IL: Author.
Last Updated on August 17, 2016 by Voca_GC