Cognitive therapy to achieve personal goals: results of telephone group counseling with disabled adults.

Physical disability alters a person's lifestyle and can be detrimental in its effects on mood and activity. We describe a counseling program for severely disabled persons who participated in cognitive therapy by telephone. Therapy involved solving problems related to personal dissatisfaction, loneliness, or depression. The treated group reported significantly less loneliness after treatment and were observed by their families to demonstrate more social role skills than the control group. High goal attainment reported by the treated groups was significantly correlated with decreased loneliness, positive changes in social role skills, and family expectations. Treating affective problems with scheduled telephone contact should be further evaluated because of the observed effectiveness and potential for reaching homebound clientele.