ABSTRACT
Many assumptions and issues are involved in the relationship between lifestyle and adjustment to disability. First of all, it is very likely that the practitioner cannot avoid being influenced by his assumptions regarding the nature of man. The conscious and dimly conscious beliefs that the helper holds about man’s personality development and nature will influence his method of intervention. Moreover, this will be subtly in operation regardless of whether the disability is congenital or acquired. The practitioner’s beliefs as to whether man is determined by his past or freely chooses from moment to moment, whether he is basically driven by instincts or is shaped by his environment, whether an individual creates his feelings or is possessed by his feelings, and so on, all unavoidably influence how one goes about helping others. Getting in touch with the dimensions of one’s personal “personality theory” can be a worthwhile first step. Subsequently, the individual who has made this self-inventory is in a better position to supplement or even change his beliefs as a result of considering more formalized personality theories.
This chapter, “Lifestyle and Adjustment to Disability,” from Warren R. Rule (Ed.), Lifestyle counseling for adjustment to disability,1984. Rockville, MD: Aspen Systms Corporation.
