[COPING WITH A DISABILITY - A CLASSIFICATION OF COPING STYLES].

Abstract

Introduction: Coping with illness or physical disability and its consequences, including a decrease in daily function, is a stressful situation that poses various challenges for the person and the family. Rehabilitation is a complex ongoing process targeting to help return to functioning as close as possible to the status prior to the illness. There are different styles of coping with disease/disability, which affect the rehabilitation process and its success.

Objectives: This article aims to conceptualize and prepare a framework for coping of patients with physical disabilities in order to assist rehabilitative teams in providing care for these patients.

Methods: Clinical observations were conducted at the rehabilitation clinic in the central district of Maccabi, for mapping styles of coping with physical disability. Between February 2020 and July 2022, 240 patients who were suitable for the current study were examined. The sample included patients in the sub-acute phase, after the end of the diagnostic phase and the curative treatment of a medical condition, which caused a functional decline.

Results: Clinical observations indicate that the most effective coping style is flexibility, which allows a person to receive the assistance provided under the rehabilitation program and to adjust his or her lifestyle to the current functional status.

Conclusions: It is important for professionals to be familiar with coping styles to help patients move between them. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may help increase a person's psychological flexibility. It is recommended to combine it as part of the multi-professional rehabilitation to maximize the results of the rehabilitation.