Psychological care for persons after functional loss

Introduction. The importance of psychological care for persons with functional loss is based on a number of reasons. Functional loss is considered as traumatic stress and can lead to serious changes in ordinary life and psychological well-being. Moreover, the ability to perform various activities may be questioned or become impossible as a result of functional loss. An adequate perception of functional loss depends on the characteristics of world perception formed before amputation. Aim. The paper aims to identify the specifics of psychological care with respect to the features of functional loss perception in persons with different world perception. Materials and methods. This article is based on case studies of three patients experiencing functional loss from 2018 to 2021. The following methods were used for the purpose of the study: analytical (analysis of the situation of experiencing functional loss), clinical and psychological methods (observation, structured clinical interview, psychodiagnostic testing with the I.O. Loginova “Human life-world stability” test). Results. According to the results of the study, regular manifestations of functional loss were identified: patients were dissatisfied with their emotional state and had no resource to cope with the problem; significantly reduced levels of physical activity, role functioning, pain-related and emotional components, vital activity, which indicated worsening in the quality of life. Variable experiences were manifested depending on the stage of experiencing functional loss. These results allowed to develop individual targets of psychological intervention, change patients’ life perception in new circumstances (favorable or unfavorable), adequately assess these circumstances and include them in future life events. Conclusion. A different dynamics of self-identity changes after amputation was recorded with respect to world perception, which facilitated adaptation to the disease and possible disease-related problems. The results obtained indicate that patients perceive their body as more perfect before amputation, however, they discover new psychological resources to compensate their functional loss.