Psychosocial services in rehabilitation medicine: an interdisciplinary approach

Abstract

Psychosocial adjustment to disability is an area of special need, often requiring intervention by mental health professionals, including social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. While the availability of all these disciplines is optimal for comprehensive psychosocial intervention, the use of multiple mental health disciplines may create problems of role confusion, overlapping efforts, and discontinuity of care. This paper presents the development of a psychosocial team as a method for identifying service goals, differentiating roles, coordinating psychosocial care, and educating rehabilitation staff on the expertise and proper use of the psychosocial disciplines. Four stages of team development are described: I. Identification of Purpose; II. Role Definition; III. Task Assignment; IV. Integration. A case example illustrates the functions of the interdisciplinary psychosocial team.