Disability is the third part of a couple relationship, belonging to the two of them. This workshop focuses on the key issues facing couples with disabilities (straight or queer), the major points of stress, and the decisions that couples might face together. The therapeutic tasks are outlined from a disability-affirmative perspective. Two case examples illustrate the role of context and culture in couples with disabilities.

Schedule: 

12:00-12:30: When disability is the third side of the triangle: issues to consider

                      Stigma and courtesy stigma

                      Maintaining boundaries

12:45-1:00:   Brief Case example illustrating context

1:00-1:30:     Points of stress

                     Response vs adjustment

                     Therapeutic tasks

                     Being disability affirmative

                     Case example 

1:30-1:40:     Co-parenting

1:40-2:00:     Discussion, questions

Rhoda Olkin, Ph.D., is a graduate of Stanford and UC Santa Barbara, and now a Distinguished Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, training doctoral students. She had polio at age one, before there was a polio vaccine. Dr. Olkin is the author of three books on the intersection of disability and clinical psychology: What Psychotherapists Should Know about Disability; Disability-Affirmative Therapy, and Teaching Disability. For over ten years she has been on the editorial board of the APA journal Rehabilitation Psychology. She is a disability rights activist, does expert witness work related to disability, and is a mother to two grown children and a cat.

Date: May 3rd, 2024; 12pm - 2pm PDT

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free to attend for active members and non members

CE: 2 CE credits free for members and $20 for non members