ABSTRACT
One of the issues raised by this statement is, of course: what is benefit? how can benefit best be defined for broad populations of people, for sub-populations, and for individuals?
References to ‘benefit’ have already been made in the previous chapter. With respect to each population category, comments were made about what members of the population ‘need’ in order to achieve the kind of gain most relevant to them. Such statements were made as: ‘They may need to learn new skills or acquire new information’; ‘they may profit from exploring what the transition means to them’; ‘they may need to undergo experiences which render their dysfunctional behaviour no longer necessary to them’. These statements refer to what ‘benefit’ can be said to consist of for people in particular population categories.
