It has been proposed that perceived control plays an important role in influencing health-related behaviour. This study examined the relationship between locus of control and the return-to-work achievements of a group of back-injured workers' compensation claimants. The obtained results supported the hypothesised relationships between both ‘internal’ and ‘powerful others’ locus of control, and the return-to-work criterion variables. It was concluded that use of rehabilitation-specific measures of locus of control (such as were employed in the present study) could guide the program planning efforts of rehabilitation personnel dealing with this client group.

The use of computer simulations in professional rehabilitation counselling training has received considerable attention in recent years. Most notably, computer-based rehabilitation case management simulations have been developed for teaching and evaluating clinical problem solving skills of rehabilitation counselling trainees. However, a major problem confronting the use of computer simulations in professional rehabilitation training is the lack of quantification procedures for measuring performance on computer simulations. A current approach involves the computation of proficiency and efficiency indices as performance feedback measures. The purpose of this paper, however, is to demonstrate the potential problems with using these two indices as feedback mechanisms in computer simulations and to present an alternative quantification procedure for measuring and providing feedback about trainee performance on computer-based case management simulations.

Key stakeholders (injured workers, rehabilitation co-ordinators, rehabilitation providers, treating doctors and insurers) in the occupational rehabilitation process were interviewed to gain their perspective concerning the degree to which case management was viewed as the organising principle of post-injury management and to whom this role was most frequently assigned. Findings indicated that there were differences in stakeholder perceptions about who should fill this role for the injured worker, with the majority of each group claiming case management as their proper role. In contrast, 35% of the injured workers interviewed stated that they either did not have a case manager or that they case managed themselves. Although it was argued that rehabilitation co-ordinators are suitably placed to act as case managers, they were nominated least by injured workers. Three vignettes of successful case management were presented and recommendations for policy and practice were made.

The impact of long-term unemployment is not confined to the vocational sphere but also includes a psychosocial component. Many who are out of work for long periods of time not only report deskilling but also lack of support, poor self esteem and low self confidence. This paper examines some of these issues by reference to both the Australian government's ‘Working Nation’ paper on unemployment and research carried out with 77 unemployed persons in Sydney, Australia. While it is not unusual for rehabilitation counsellors to receive referrals of people with disabilities who have been unemployed for considerable periods, contact with the general long-term unemployed population has been less common. The rehabilitation counselling profession is closely examined in terms of the degree to which its skill and knowledge base matches the needs profile of this general unemployed population. Rehabilitation counselling was found to be an appropriate profession to deal with the complex mix of vocational and psychosocial issues confronted by persons who have remained unemployed for long periods of time.

Minority group identification, community integration and self-esteem was investigated among 55 adult deaf persons. Deaf persons who reported greater levels of deaf minority group identification also reported significantly higher levels of self-esteem than those with less deaf group identification. Second, employed deaf persons reported higher levels of self-esteem than those who were unemployed. Employment status was, however, independent of involvement in both “mainstream” and deaf community activities. Implications for rehabilitation counsellors are discussed.