Diversity and social justice in disability: The heart and soul of rehabilitation psychology

Abstract

Rehabilitation psychology uniquely incorporates a holistic, psychosocial perspective encompassing all aspects of disability, with a particular focus on the connection between disabled people and the social environment. This article introduces a special issue of Rehabilitation Psychology on diversity and social justice in disability research. The 13 articles in this special issue coalesce around the 3 themes of (a) critical disability identity theory, (b) discrimination and prejudice, and (c) health disparities in the context of disability. This article introduces each of these articles and draws upon the work contained in this special issue to highlight important future directions for research on diversity and social justice in disability across the following areas: (a) nondisabled privilege, (b) rehabilitation versus cure versus adjustment, (c) diverse modes of knowing, and (d) a priori diversity and strength-based measures. This special issue helps rehabilitation psychologists consider how they can best fulfill their social justice, human rights, and advocacy missions in order to advance access and inclusion with and for diverse groups of disabled people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).