Contributions to Rehabilitation from Behavioural Psychology: Then and Now

Abstract

AbstractThis paper analyses the contribution of behaviourally-oriented psychologists to the field of rehabilitation. Following a brief description of the prominent contribution of behavioural psychology in the period 1950—1970, an analysis of the contents of four contemporary North American behaviour therapy and rehabilitation journals suggests that there is currently little behaviourally-oriented rehabilitation research being published, even though rehabilitation settings in North America have provided the most positions of employment for psychologists over the recent past. It is concluded that, locally, Australian behavioural psychologists could make a valuable contribution to the nation's public health effort by increasing their prominence as researchers and practitioners within the field of rehabilitation.