What Psychotherapists Should Know About Disability

by Rhoda Olkin

This comprehensive volume provides the knowledge and skills that mental health professionals need for more effective, informed work with clients with disabilities. Combining her extensive knowledge as a clinician, researcher, and teacher with her personal experience as someone with a disability, Olkin provides an insider's perspective on critical issues that are often overlooked in training. A lucid conceptual framework is presented for understanding disability as a minority experience, one that is structured by social, legal, and attitudinal constraints as well as physical challenges. Illuminating frequently encountered psychosocial themes and concerns, chapters describe a range of approaches to dealing with disability issues in the treatment of adults, children, and families. Topics addressed include etiquette with clients with disabilities; special concerns in assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis; the impact of disability on sexuality and romance, as well as pregnancy, birthing, and parenting; the use of assistive technology and devices; disability and substance abuse; and more. Filled with clinical examples and observations, the volume also discusses strategies for enhancing teaching, training, and research.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Disability

368 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 1999

Reviews

[Lightreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the title says, and a whole lot more. This was, in a word, great. It's one of those books that doesn't pretend at any answers, and that
wants you to walk away better equipped to keep asking questions of your own. It's geared towards clinicians, obviously, and it addresses incredibly difficult
subjects head on, like what ethical/professional responsibilities a clinician has towards a client with a disability who is considering assisted suicide. This book is brilliant at untangling disability from pathology and putting them in their respective places, and for that alone it should be read by anybody with any serious contact with the community.

[Beyza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is bridging the gap between disability studies and clinical psychology; and this is why it is 'the one' for me. I was excited with the title when I first discovered it... and I haven't been disappointed at all. It's curious that it hasn't been a 'must-read' in clinical psychology programs.

[Geldar · Rating 2 out of 5]

The answer is, "all of them."