THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

Message From the President

Dear Members & Friends-

       This month we will have elections for all positions. Anyone who is interested in running for a position needs to show up so that we can have some candidates. I hope that we can have a good turn out so that it will be reflective of the wishes of the entire chapter. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided.

       The Christmas dinner was a nice success. We had about 25 people attend As usual, we had an excellent meal prepared by Cheryl Stokes. We had a few new faces show up, which was nice. We stayed until after 9:00 p.m. socializing and having a good time. We look forward to doing this next year and hope to have an even larger turn out. The Chapter would like to thanks Tom and Cheryl Stokes for all their hard work.

    Rehab, 4th floor dining room. Social hour 6:30; speaker at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments provided.

  -Adam Ford  

All articles are from Special Living, winter, 2003 - ed

COULD A 'SHRINK' HELP? By Stephanie T. Machell Ph.D.

       Many people never see a psychologist, and the majority are quite certain they never want to! Even well informed people may assume that psychologists are like what they've seen on TV. They may expect that a "shrink' will make them lie down on a couch, ask them what sort of tree they would like to be, and blame their parents for anything that has ever happened to them. And even if they know this is not true... well... psychologists are for crazy people, right? Or...maybe the psychologists are the crazy people?

       Many living with a Disability feel distrust and/or discomfort in dealing with any medical provider and is done only when absolutely necessary. Unless emotional distress interferes with daily life to a high degree, seeing a psychologist is seldom considered a necessity.

       This is unfortunate. When integrated into a complete treatment plan, psychological services can greatly enhance quality of life. For anyone living with chronic illness or physical disability, the connection between the body and the mind is a daily reality. Dealing psychologically with current problems or past issues that are causing stress will benefit physical health as well. Many psychological treatments now exist for chronic

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