Rhoda Olkin, Ph.D.

Specialties and Interests

• Families with disabilities
• Child & family
• Psychopathology
• Online teaching

Professional Activities

• Professor, California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda; 9/90-present
• Principal Investigator, Department of Education, Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR) grant on parents with disabilities and their adolescent children, at Through the Looking Glass, Berkeley; 10/99 - 9/03
• Staff member, Through the Looking Glass, Berkeley
• Clinical Practice, 1984-present; includes expert witness work re: physical, sensory, and psychiatric disabilities
• Editorial Board–Rehabilitation Psychology, 1/02 – present
• Ad hoc reviewer for:  Journal of Family Psychology, 8/88-present; Professional Psychology:  Research & Practice, 1995-present; Disability Studies Quarterly, 1995-present; Journal of Counseling and Development, 1991-present
• Book Review Board, The Family Psychologist; 1990-present

Research: Publications and Presentations

This is an abbreviated list of recent publications and presentations. For a complete list, please see Dr. Olkin’s resume.

• Olkin, R. (1999).  What psychotherapists should know about disability.   New York: Guilford Press.
• Olkin, R. (2005).  Females with disabilities.  In J. Worell & C. Goodheart (Eds.), Handbook of girls’ and women’s psychological health.  New York: Oxford University Press.
• Olkin, R. (2006).  Disability and depression.  In F. Haseltine (Ed.), Women with disabilities – A comprehensive guide to care.  Philadelphia:  Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Olkin, R. (2006).  Why I changed my mind about physician-assisted suicide: How Stanford University made a radical out of me.  Journal of Disability Policy Studies.
• Olkin, R. (2003).  Women with disabilities.  In J. C. Chrisler, C. Golden, & P. D. Rozee (Eds.), Lectures on the psychology of women (3rd ed.).  New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Olkin, R., & Pledger, C. (2003).  Can disability studies and psychology join hands?  American Psychologist, 58(4), 296-304.
• Olkin, R. (2003).  Women with physical disabilities who want to leave their partners: A feminist and disability-affirmation perspective.  Women and Therapy, 26(3/4), 237-246.
• (2003, June).  Families with disabilities.  Keynote address for the American Family Therapy Academy, Miami, FL.

Degrees, Professional Licenses, Certifications, and Honors

• BA, Stanford University, 1975 (Psychology)
• MA, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977 (Counseling Psychology)
• PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981 (Counseling Psychology)
• Marriage, Family and Child Counselor License, #M17504, California, issued 8/82
• Licensed Psychologist, #PSY8053, California, issued 6/83
• Alliant International University President’s Award for Faculty Excellence, 6/03
• APA Division 43 (Family Psychology) Carolyn Attneave award, 8/01
• APA Division 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology) award, 8/01
• National Multicultural Conference and Summit II:  Dalmas A. Taylor Award, 1/01
• Outstanding Merit Increase Awards, CSPP:  1991; 1992; 1993; 1995; 2000
• Meritorious Performance & Professional Promise Award, CA State Univ., Sacramento; 4/88
• Award for Outstanding Performance, VA Medical Center, SF, CA; 1983, 84, 85

Courses Taught

• Clinical Supervision
• Consultation and Evaluation
• Disability, Ethnicity and Culture
• Disability, Law and Family
• Dissertation Proposal Design
• Effective Teaching and Presenting
• Family Therapy (Beginning and Advanced)
• Introduction to Clinical Psychology
• Learning Theory
• Medical Family Therapy
• Observation and Interviewing
• Physical Disability:  Psychosocial/Legal Aspects
• Principles of Psychotherapy
• Psychopathology and Diagnosis (in person and online)
• Research Cluster on Disabilities, Families and Culture (Dissertation Supervision)
• Research Methods
• Social Psychology (online)
• Theory and Technique:  Cognitive Behavioral
• Therapy with Couples and Families

Professional and Honorary Memberships

• American and California Associations for Marital and Family Therapy
• American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers
• American Association of University Professors
• American Counseling Association
• American Family Therapy Academy
• American Orthopsychiatric Association
• American, Western, California, and Contra Costa County Psychological Associations
• Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy
• Californians for Disability Rights
• National Council on Rehabilitation Education
• San Francisco Bay Area Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy; President, 1986-87
• Society for Disability Studies
• Member of APA’s Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology, 1/02 - 12/04; President of Committee 1/04 - 12/04
• Member of APA Textbook Guidelines Initiative (re diversity material in undergraduate psychology texts), 5/01 - present
• Member of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Task Force on Disability & Substance Abuse, 7/02 – present
• Member of four-person California Psychological Association Task Force on Short-term Psychotherapy, 1994.  Results: report and recommendations to CPA; presentation at APA

Grants

• Principal Investigator, “Parents with disabilities and their adolescent children.”  Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (PR award # H133G990130).  10/99 – 10/03
• Multicultural Professional Development Grant Award, California School of Professional Psychology, 1998-99
• Research Grant:  "Strategies for Reducing Any Negative Impact of a Physical Disability On Early Adolescents:  Designing An Intervention Model For Early Teens and Their Parents."  California School of Professional Psychology, 1996
• Three Affirmative Action Research Grants, California State University, Sacramento; 1987-88; 1988-89; 1989-90
• Three Assigned Time and Scholarly Activity Research Grants, California State University, Sacramento; 1987-88; 1988-89 (2)
  Research Grant:  Admissions and retention policies in masters level mental health programs.  American Mental Health Counseling Association, 4/88