Disability

According to the CDC, 26% of the United States population is living with a disability.  Disabilities can be neurological, cognitive, developmental, medical, physical, or mental health/substance abuse-related.  

Some disabilities are congenital, which means that a person has it from birth.  Other disabilities are acquired at some point during a person's life.  Some disabilities are constant throughout a person's life, and some may change and develop, worsening over time or becoming exacerbated at times.  Sometimes, a traumatic event causes the onset of a disability, such as an accident, injury, or illness.  

The onset of a disability can trigger many thoughts, feelings, and challenges.  Feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety, shock, depression, and other emotions may occur and change, sometimes rapidly, over time.  Thoughts, such as "How will my life have to be different?" and "How am I going to accomplish my goals with this disability?" may occur.  Disability can impact many life areas, including independent living, housing, school/work, relationships, self-care, mobility, and hobbies.  These impacts occur at the time a disability is acquired or diagnosed, however can also recur throughout one's life at important milestones or as they may experience worsening or exacerbation of symptoms.

Here at Healing & Growth Counseling, we have several clinicians who have specialized training in assisting people navigating the process of adjusting to life with a disability.  This may include assisting you in processing the emotions and thoughts you are having about the disability, providing you with education about the disability, and helping you to find new pathways to achieve your goals.  This may also include helping to link you to additional services and accommodations.  We will work with you to reframe from seeing disability as a negative (as it is worded "dis"-ability) to seeing it as having a "different"-ability.

Sometimes, acquiring a disability can leave a person feeling hopeless.  We are here to assist you in finding hope by learning about your disability, connecting you to resources, processing emotions, reframing and challenging negative thoughts, finding new pathways towards your goals, and building hope and resilience.

If you have any questions or are interested in scheduling an appointment, reach out to us at (516) 406-8991.