The Individual with the Psychiatric Disability
The individual with psychiatric “experience” or psychiatric disability
is referred to in this text variously as: consumer, consumer-survivor,
client, or person. The terms used reflect both the evolution of the field
and the current debate within it. 
The debate centers on the question of
what mode of identification most accurately portrays the individual’s
actual situation or enhances the individual’s potential integration as a
valued member of society (Caras, 1994; Fisher, 1994). Consumer or
consumer survivor is a generic term used to refer to the relationship of
the individual to the mental health system. The terminology of con.
sumer (i.e. one who “consumes” or actively uses services and/or a survivor,
(i.e., one who has “survived” psychiatric or mental health treatment)
invokes the personal experience of the individual. 
Many, but not
all consumer organizations, use these terms. The term client is used to
refer to someone’s role in a specific helping relationship with a practitioner
or helper. The term person, people, or individual is used most
frequently in this text as an abbreviated form of the phrase: person with
a psychiatric disability. It is used to underscore the fact that rehabilitation
is interested in the human being across all of his or her roles (e.g.,
client, consumer, tenant, worker, parent, friend, student).

   The Nature of the Difficulty Addressed by Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
  The first terms to be clarified are those that describe the type of difficulties for which psychiatric rehabilitation was designed. Various terms have been used both in mental health/rehabilitation literature and in practice: psychiatric illness, impairment, psychiatric disability, emotional problems, psychiatric background, and psychiatric experience. The variety of terms indicates varying points of view about the nature of the problem and the extent to which “mental illness” is an illness or a sociopolitical problem (Chamberlin, 1990). This text uses psychiatric disability, in preference to other terms when referring to the aspect of the problem which psychiatric rehabilitation addresses. The term psychiatric disability does not speak to the issue of the cause of mental illness nor does it imply that a particular psychiatric diagnosis is either correct or useful. In using the term disability, rather than illness, reference is made to the restriction in functioning experienced by some people with a psychiatric diagnosis of major mental illness or a long term psychiatric experience. The term impairment is used to refer to what is typically thought of as psychiatric symptoms or the personal distress related to the psychiatric difficulty or problem. The Individual with the Psychiatric Disability The individual with psychiatric “experience” or psychiatric disability is referred to in this text variously as: consumer, consumer-survivor, client, or person. The terms used reflect both the evolution of the field and the current debate within it. The debate centers on the question of what mode of identification most accurately portrays the individual’s actual situation or enhances the individual’s potential integration as a valued member of society (Caras, 1994; Fisher, 1994). Consumer or consumer survivor is a generic term used to refer to the relationship of the individual to the mental health system. The terminology of con

Description Rehabilitation readiness helps people with serious psychiatric disabilities to actively assess their own willingness to engage in rehabilitation. Introduction to Rehabilitation Readiness begins with a brief overview of psychiatric rehabilitation. The research background and context for the concepts involved in both assessing and developing psychiatric rehabilitation readiness are discussed. Further, if they wish, it helps people to get involved in activities that assist them in increasing their readiness. Introduction to Rehabilitation Readiness can be used as a stand-alone text for classroom use or self-study. It also can be used as an introduction to the Rehabilitation Readiness Training Technology.