Spinal cord injuries and peer-counseling: the significance of peer-counselor as a member of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team after spinal cord injury

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be a sudden and devastating event that changes a person’s life forever. Not only does it affect a person’s physical function, but also their psychological wellbeing and social life. It is easy to understand that physical interventions alone may not be enough to lead to successful and comprehensive rehabilitation outcomes. In that sense the rehabilitation team should be interdisciplinary and polulated not only by physisians, physiotherapists e.tc, but also by pshycologists, social workers, peer councelors e.tc. In this thesis it is studied the significance of peer counseling to people who had suffered a SCI. It includes a brief presentation of spinal cord anatomy, the health essentials after the injury and the physiotherapists management, and then discusses the importance of peer counseling in the context of the biopsychosocial model as described in International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). There are numerous studies that support peer counseling as a crucial and possitive aspect in a rehabilitation prosses. Peer support is nowdays reconized as an evidence-based practice and many rehabilitaion centers include peer mentoring in their programs. The benefits expand from less inpatient use and fewer problems and needs to greater satisfaction with life and better quality of life. Additionaly, peer programs and its benefits are proven to make rehabilitation more cost effective. Nevertheless, more researches should be conducted as organized peer support programs are not allways successful. Insufficient funding, lack of staff with skills to coordinate peer mentors, complexity of dealing with numerous types of disabilities, transportation to group meetings, lack of qualified peer mentors, and burnout among peer mentors often leads to failure of the programs.