How does Rehabilitation Counseling help cancer patients return to an active life
How does Rehabilitation Counseling help cancer patients return to an active life
A faculty member of the university's Counseling Department, emphasizing the need to reform the language commonly used when dealing with serious illnesses, stated: Rehabilitation counseling plays a key and decisive role in restoring the identity of cancer patients; because this specialized intervention helps individuals not allow a “defect” to replace their “identity,” and by accepting the reality of limitations, they remain the master of their own fate.
According to the university’s web news reporter, Dr. Bahman Bahmani, a faculty member in the Counseling Department of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, referring to the importance of separating “disease” from “personhood,” noted: In choosing words, one should be careful, and instead of terms that overwhelm a person’s entire identity, use the phrase “a person with cancer” instead of “a cancer patient.” A disorder or illness is a complication that affects a person and should not be conflated with their entire being or personality.
Redefining identity, from ownership of a defect to reclaiming the self
He explained the concept of disability as a deficiency in bodily, physiological, or psychological systems that can lead to significant and sometimes irreversible limitations, such as amputation or sensory problems. He added: Rehabilitation counseling helps the individual accept that they are the 'owner of the defect,' not that the defect owns them. In this process, by reclaiming the self, the person realizes that disability is merely a constraint and not the end of their capabilities.
Rehabilitation Counseling: Beyond Psychological Support
Dr. Bahmani emphasized that rehabilitation counseling for cancer patients goes beyond simple psychological support and actually serves as a bridge between “clinical treatment” and “returning to a meaningful life.” While medical treatments focus on eliminating cancer cells, a rehabilitation counselor helps the individual redefine their identity by accepting the bodily changes resulting from surgery or chemotherapy.
According to him, this process empowers the patient to regain control of their personal and social life despite a deficit or impairment, and prevents the shadow of illness from affecting all aspects of their being, including spiritual connection and social interactions.
“Powerful, not Disabled.”
This faculty member, proposing the term “empowered” (instead of “disabled”) as a replacement for disability, stated that rehabilitation counseling helps people not to drown in their impairment. The primary audience of this counseling is the person themselves, so they can understand that illness is only a part of their existence, not all of it. The individual must learn to manage the unavoidable consequences of illness and, in some cases, turn negative consequences into an opportunity for growth and a newly elevated position; in acute situations, to move from crisis management to crisis handling.
He concluded by noting that not all cancer patients necessarily need rehabilitation counseling; this specialized intervention is especially required for those who, in the course of disease progression or treatment, face impairments such as mobility deficits, limb loss, or sensory disorders. By utilizing rehabilitation counseling, these individuals can establish a new balance in their relationship with themselves, with God, and with the community, and once again take control of their lives.
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