Physical Disability and Substance Use Disorders: A Convergence of Adaptation and Recovery

This article explores issues related to substance use disorders in persons with physical disabilities and the commonalities of the parallel research in recovery and adaptation to disability. An approach for converging these areas of research is presented. Parallel research in substance abuse counseling and rehabilitation counseling reveals that quality of life is an indicator of both adaptation to disability and recovery from substance use disorders. Despite this common outcome, the interaction of adapting to a disability and recovery from a substance use disorder has not been adequately addressed in the literature. A more integrative approach to counseling individuals with disabilities may be achieved with a better understanding of the complex relationship between quality of life, adaptation to disability, and substance use disorder. A converged approach to research is discussed in relation to the development of counseling interventions that improve the quality of life of persons with physical disabilities.