ABSTRACT
As a therapist I felt a multitude of emotions during and after the four months in which I worked with Rudy, Sal, Ed, and Jay. It was both rewarding and hopeful to see these men rebuild roles and relationships through which they derived greater life satisfaction as adult men. I felt elated when Ed visited his girlfriend in another state and experienced his first “real date” shortly after the intervention ended. It was gratifying to see Jay engaged in the writing of a book about his injury experience–a creative endeavor that allowed the expression of his high level intelligence, which was otherwise disguised in a body that was listless and slow. I cheered when I heard that Sal and Ann had celebrated one-half a year together, three months after the intervention came to a completion. And I felt triumphant when Rudy‧ paintings and jewelry were displayed in the main lobby of his rehabilitation facility the following fall. His family came to that event–an exhibition of his artwork and jewelry that had come to define a new adult identity for him.
