ILLINOIS PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY

Abstract

One of the most rejected men in society is the industrially injured workman who has a protracted convalescence for psychologic reasons. These are men who have been determined by the surgeons as able to return to work; yet their behavior is a hostile denial of this opinion. This hostile dependent behavior is confronted not only with the traditional contempt of society for those who do not accept responsibilities but also with the contempt of the employer milieu and family. An even severer critic is his own conscience, which does not permit him to face his dependent attitude but, instead, forces him to behave as a sick man needing medical care. The paradox is that, though his complaints are many, what he seeks is not treatment but a diagnosis that will appease his conscience. The state compensation laws and the general lack of understanding of the psychologic factors involved are largely responsible for the existence of this behavior. At the state-operated Veterans' Rehabilitation Center of Chicago, experience has been gained in the rehabilitation of veterans with psychoneuroses which can be utilized in the treatment of the industrially injured with a psychologically pro¬ tracted convalescence. The treatment at the center has as its basis an under¬ standing of the psychologic factors in human relationships. It utilizes an all-day therapy involving recreational and physical educational activities, the arts and crafts, socialization activities and individual and group psychotherapy, all prescribed by the psychiatrist to fit the individual needs of the veteran, so that the rehabilitated veteran will better be able to face the vicissitudes of life and avoid future break¬ downs. This vocational rehabilitation program is recommended on a basis of study by a staff psychologist and social worker, as well as a psychiatrist. Important in the treatment at the center is an integration of the teamwork, psychologically oriented, among all members of the staff. The advantage of treatment at a stateoperated rehabilitation center is that there is responsibility only to the veteran, the matter of adjustment of pensions requiring no consideration by the staff at the center. It is believed that the psychotherapeutic lessons learned at the center offer an