Valuing the insider-professional perspective of disability: A call for rehabilitation psychologists to support disabled psychologists and trainees across the profession.

Abstract

Purpose/Objective: In this commentary, I call for rehabilitation psychologists to support and advocate for trainees and psychologists with disabilities across the profession as an extension of the foundational principles of the study. Research Method/Design: I reviewed the literature on psychologists and psychology trainees with disabilities, as well as the foundational principles of rehabilitation psychology. Results: A growing body of literature documents both the presence of psychologists and psychology trainees with disabilities and the barriers that they often encounter in the field. One of the foundational principles of rehabilitation psychology and the acknowledgment of the insider–outsider perspective of disability, which holds that disabled individuals, by nature of their lived experience, have unique perspectives on disability that enrich our overall understanding of it. Conclusion/Implications: Through their combination of lived experience and professional expertise, disabled psychologists and trainees bring a critical insider-professional perspective to the field, both inside and outside of rehabilitation psychology. It is both important and in line with our foundational principles that rehabilitation psychologists advocate for psychologists and trainees with disabilities in all settings, so that their important insider-professional perspective on disability can continue to advance the field.

Structural ableism in public health and healthcare: a definition and conceptual framework

“…The under-representation of disabled people within these fields relates in part to experiences of educational and workplace discrimination and inaccessibility that affect retention and advancement. 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 Additionally, disabled people are largely prohibited from participating in clinical research due to the inaccessibility of study designs and unjustified eligibility criteria that restrict their engagement. 33 Such exclusions may lead to misrepresentations about the needs of disabled people and contribute to the erasure of disability in health policy and resource allocation.…”

Methodological considerations for collecting and analyzing data on multiply marginalized psychology trainees with disabilities.

“…As a field, rehabilitation psychology has a long-standing focus on advocacy for individuals from marginalized groups, especially individuals with disabilities (Andrews et al, 2023; Forber-Pratt et al, 2019). The scope of this advocacy has been conceptualized to include both marginalized trainees (especially those with disabilities; Lund, 2022a) and disabled people of color (Carter et al, 2023) and to understand both individual and systemic experiences and drivers of oppression and resilience in these populations (Andrews et al, 2023; Carter et al, 2023; Lund, Forber-Pratt, et al, 2020). Thus, advocating for multiply marginalized psychology trainees with disabilities fits well within the scope, expertise, and ethos of rehabilitation psychology (Lund, 2022a); research that allows us to better understand the lived experiences of multiply marginalized disabled trainees is critical data-driven advocacy (Lund et al, 2023).…”

“…The scope of this advocacy has been conceptualized to include both marginalized trainees (especially those with disabilities; Lund, 2022a) and disabled people of color (Carter et al, 2023) and to understand both individual and systemic experiences and drivers of oppression and resilience in these populations (Andrews et al, 2023; Carter et al, 2023; Lund, Forber-Pratt, et al, 2020). Thus, advocating for multiply marginalized psychology trainees with disabilities fits well within the scope, expertise, and ethos of rehabilitation psychology (Lund, 2022a); research that allows us to better understand the lived experiences of multiply marginalized disabled trainees is critical data-driven advocacy (Lund et al, 2023). Furthermore, providing evidence-based training, supervision, and supportive initiatives for multiply marginalized disabled trainees can potentially increase the diversity and representativeness of the rehabilitation psychology workforce, thus improving our collective ability to research, treat, and advocate for the needs of all people with disabilities and increase our understanding of the insider perspective and lived experience (Dunn et al, 2016) of multiply marginalized individuals with disabilities.…”

“…Although rehabilitation psychologists often advocate for disabled and other marginalized trainees across the broader field of health service psychology (Lund, 2022a), they often have a specific interest in trainee experiences and representation within rehabilitation psychology training programs specifically (Andrews et al, 2013). Differentiation of rehabilitation psychology training often begins at the internship (Uy et al, 2022) or postdoctoral fellowship (Stiers & Stucky, 2022) level, although trainees may seek or receive training in rehabilitation settings prior to internship.…”

“…Rehabilitation psychology training programs are marked by a focus on the psychological needs and experiences of individuals with various disabilities and by a focus on teaching at least some of the core principles and competencies of rehabilitation psychology, including training on diversity and acknowledgment of the unique “insider perspective” on disability held by people with disabilities (Dunn et al, 2016; Stiers & Stucky, 2022). Some of these characteristics may make these training programs particularly attractive to disabled trainees, including multiply marginalized trainees, although not all disabled trainees will choose to pursue clinical work or research related to disability (Andrews & Lund, 2015; Lund, 2022a). Although rehabilitation psychologists have clinical expertise in disability, this does not automatically confer supervisory expertise when working with disabled trainees (Wilbur et al, 2019, 2023).…”