Affiliations: VocConsult Services, Rågvägen 13, 954 32
Gammelstad, Sweden. Tel./Fax: +46 920 251778; E-mail:
[email protected] | Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation and
School Psychology, College of Education, California State University,
Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA. Tel.: +1 916 278 6663;
Fax: +1 916 278-3498; E-mail: [email protected]
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: Rehabilitation of functionally impaired in Sweden and the United
States is compared and contrasted. Found is that there are fundamental
differences in strategies. The Swedish system most often uses a medically
oriented multidisciplinary team approach. The US system most often uses a
single individual, the vocational rehabilitation counselor, to work with
functionally impaired in helping them return to work. Emphasized is that a
vocational rehabilitation counselor uses a unique array of skills that is not
duplicated in Sweden by a single profession. Suggested is that a single person
with a range of skills can more economically provide vocational rehabilitation
services to those with functional impairments; whether this is practical for
Sweden is yet to be determined. In contrasting the two systems it was evident
that the US system has been in operation for a much longer time and that the
Swedish system is maturing. Noted is that the governments of both countries are
feeling pressure regarding funding of vocational rehabilitation. This is
affecting the level and quality of services. The authors advocate wider contact
between Swedish and US university-level training programs in rehabilitation.
Felt is that each system has strengths and knowledge that can be used to
benefit the other.
Keywords: vocational rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation counselor, VR, RC, rehabilitation, functional impairment, return to work
