Finnish Rehabilitation Counselors Assessing Their Interaction With Clients and Their Clients’ Interaction With Other Professionals and the Family

Abstract

The empowerment process of rehabilitation clients is mediated through empowering and disempowering experiences in the social interactions of various areas of life. We examine the perceptions of Finnish rehabilitation counselors (RC) of the position of their clients interacting with (a) the rehabilitation counselors themselves, (b) other professionals in social and health care services, and (c) their family members. The data were collected using the Webropol 1.0 survey tool from 148 RCs employed in Finnish Central Health Districts. Most of the respondents perceived their clients to be well supported in all three relationships. However, unequal power relations were reported to exist in interaction with social and health care service professionals and disempowering acts were found in family environments. More information on disempowering acts and mistreatment is needed. Reducing disempowering acts is possible only if they are noticed and admitted by professionals in social and health care services.