The role of the psychologist in the treatment of spinal cord injury.

Advances in the treatment of spinal cord injury have shifted the emphasis from problems of survival to problems of psychological integration into the community. However, the patient's expectations for a fairly normal life are often not realised because of discrimination against disabled persons by able-bodied persons. Therefore, rehabilitation should include psychosocial skills training to teach spinal cord injury persons to cope with these issues in their own world. To accomplish this, the psychologist can contribute to the rehabilitation process as a consultant to the rehabilitation team, as a researcher of the rehabilitation process, as an evaluator of patient skills and strengths, and as a counselor. Each of these roles is discussed and a conceptualisation of the rehabilitation process is presented.