The rehabilitation counselor–employment specialist relationship: a collaborative approach

Abstract

As more attention is focused on the reduction of the high unemployment rate of people with disabilities, more demands are being made on the rehabilitation counselor-employment specialist relationship to produce timely and consumer driven career choices. Interagency collaboration between rehabilitation counselors and community rehabilitation providers can be a critical element in the efficient use of supported employment for people with disabilities. Often, in the effort to define and clarify each other's roles, professionals spend valuable time that could otherwise be devoted to the direct provision of supported employment services. This interview describes the relationship between a rehabilitation counselor and community rehabilitation provider that results in a collaborative problem solving approach to developing and implementing supported employment services. Barriers to teamwork and practical solutions to those barriers are discussed.