Psychological changes during rehabilitation for newly visually impaired people

• Published in: Shinrigaku kenkyū Vol. 75; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Author: Ueda, Yukihiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan The Japanese Psychological Association 2004
• Subjects: acceptance of disability; Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; depression; Humans; Manifest Anxiety Scale; Middle Aged; Personality Inventory; Psychotherapy; psychotherapy for bodily handicapped people; rehabilitation; Vision Disorders - psychology; Vision Disorders - rehabilitation; visually impaired people
• ISSN: 0021-5236; 1884-1082
• DOI: 10.4992/jjpsy.75.1

In study 1, the purpose was to examine the psychological changes during rehabilitation for newly visually impaired people. Before and after the 6 months rehabilitation training, we conducted Yatabe-Guilford Personality Inventory and Manifest Anxiety Scale (MAS). The results showed that scores of depression, cyclic tendencies, feeling of inferiority, nervousness, lack of objectivity, and anxiety decreased and ascendance increased significantly. In study 2, we compared the differeces of scores between those who needed psychotherapy in addition to rehabilitation training and those who didn't. People who needed psychotherapy scored significantly higher on the depression and lack of objectivity scales than those who didn't. Supportive and behavioral counseling was conducted, however no significant changes were observed before and after psychotherapy as a whole. Furthermore, the relations among the methods, purposes and effects of psychotherapy were not observal. As a conclusion, we need to develop methods of psychotherapy which accelerate the acceptance of disability and improve psychological adaptation sufficiently.