Polio Place

A service of Post-Polio Health International

mental health

Getting "Creepy" on the Internet

Post-Polio Health, Volume 31, Number 4, Fall 2015

Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as the Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology.

She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children.

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Bullying on Internet

Post-Polio Health, Volume 31, Number 4, Fall 2015

Dr. Stephanie T. Machell is a psychologist in independent practice in the Greater Boston area and consultant to the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio, Spaulding-Framingham Outpatient Center, Framingham, Massachusetts.

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Anxiety from Past Hospital Treatment

Post-Polio Health, (Volume 31, Number 3) Summer 2015

QUESTION: Sixty years later I still live daily with anxiety stemming from hospital treatment, not abusive but certainly traumatic for a child. Do you have suggestions on how I can reduce the stress of this anxiety?

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Feeling Like a Failure

Post-Polio Health, (Volume 31, Number 3) Summer 2015

Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as the Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology. 

She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children.

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Explaining PPS to New Friends

Post-Polio Health, Volume 30, Number 3, Summer 2014.

Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology.
She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children.

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Taken for Granted

Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 3, Fall 2011.

Dr. Stephanie T. Machell is a psychologist in independent practice in the Greater Boston area and consultant to the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio, Spaulding-Framingham Outpatient Center, Framingham, Massachusetts. Her father is a polio survivor.

QUESTION: I am a caregiver of a polio survivor. At times I feel taken for granted. How can I handle this situation without hurting my partner?

Response from Stephanie T. Machell, PsyD:

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"Do I have to talk about the past?"

Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 2, Spring 2011.

Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology. She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children.

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Tired Husband: Guilt and Talking about It

Post-Polio Health, Volume 25, Number 4, Fall 2009.

Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology. She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children.

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"They just want me to be like I was."

Post-Polio Health, Volume 25, Number 4, Fall 2009.

Dr. Stephanie T. Machell is a psychologist in independent practice in the Greater Boston area and consultant to the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio, Spaulding-Framingham Outpatient Center, Framingham, Massachusetts. Her father is a polio survivor.

Question: I am getting weaker and my friends and family encourage me the find "the answer" and get irritated with me when I say there isn't one answer. I think they just want me to be like I was.

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Stress Reduction Ideas

"Promoting Positive Solutions," Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 3, Spring 2013

Question: I am a 79-year-old male who had mild polio. At every annual medical visit, my doctor urges me to manage my stress and feels strongly about meditation. I have tried it and don’t like it. Sitting in a room, closing my eyes focusing on my breathing feels boring, and I don’t get it.

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