Name: Terry Lerma
E-Mail: <tdlerma@wayne.edu>
Degree(s): Ph.D.
Affiliation: Wayne State University, DDI
Short Bio:
Terry DeRocher Lerma, Ph.D., Education Director. Dr. Lerma received her Ph.D. in social psychology from Wayne State University. As Education Director at the Developmental Disabilities Institute, she is responsible for the Graduate Certificate Program in Disabilities. She is also involved in the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s program focused on development of public mental health services in Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan. Her previous teaching experience includes courses for several public and private institutions.
Dr. Lerma has been involved in professional training and in-service programs for public and private non-profit organizations for more than 20 years. Her presentations focus on responsive services to a variety of at-risk groups, including those with psychiatric disabilities, those who are incarcerated and those living with HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Lerma is a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners. She is also actively involved in the American Psychological Association, and as a member of its Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology. She has been a grant reviewer for several federal programs. Locally, Dr. Lerma is involved in the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council’s Multicultural Committee. She is also actively involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and care planning through local, regional and state planning bodies.


Detroit, MI USA - Monday, October 28, 2002 at 10:31:23 (MST)

Name: Rochelle Balter
E-Mail: <RBalt@aol.com>
Degree(s): Ph.D. J.D.
Affiliation: Private practice
Short Bio:
Private practitioner in New York City. President elect of Manhattan Psychological Association, member of APA Board of Convention Affairs, past chair of Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology(APA). Instrumental in passage of APA resolution on full participation of psychologists with disabilities in APA.
Working on law paper on the ADA and why it needs to be restructured.
co-author of Overcoming Performance Anxiety also contributed chapters on assistive technology, the image of people with disabilities in the media and suicide in geriatric populations.

New York, NY USA - Tuesday, October 01, 2002 at 07:03:51 (MDT)

Name: Linda Mona
E-Mail: <Linda.Mona@med.va.gov>
Degree(s): Ph.D.
Affiliation: Veterans Affairs, Long Beach Health Care System
Short Bio:
Linda R. Mona, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist who has focused on disability in a variety of research and clinical settings. She obtained her BA in psychology from UCLA and both her masters and doctoral degrees at Georgia State University. Both internship and postdoctoral positions were completed at the VA Palo Alto HealthCare System.

Dr. Mona has advocated for the inclusion of disability in university diversity curriculum and has been the energy behind changes for students with disabilities within academic, administrative, and service domains. She has received national recognition by the American Psychological Association, the Association on Higher Education and Disability, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Her research at the World Institute on Disability explored disability policy at the local, state, and national levels. Furthermore, in her role as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, she had the opportunity to include disability within her Cross Cultural Psychology course. Outside of her academic and clinical roles, Dr. Mona works as a disability consultant with a variety of internet companies. Currently, Dr. Mona is a Staff Psychologist with the VA Long Beach HealthCare System where she works within the spinal cord injury service.

USA - Monday, August 26, 2002 at 20:21:52 (MDT)

Name: Martha E. Banks
E-Mail: <Banks@abackans.com>
Degree(s): Ph.D.
Affiliation: ABackans DCP, Inc.
URL: http://abackans.com/Banks.html
Short Bio:
Martha E. Banks, PhD, is a research neuropsychologist in the Research & Development Division of ABackans DCP, Inc., in Akron, Ohio. She has also served as a clinical psychologist with the Brecksville Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and as Associate Professor of Psychology at The College of Wooster. Dr. Banks received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island. She has published widely in books and professional journals, including Women & Therapy, Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, and Social Science Computer Review. Dr. Banks is the editor of the forthcoming Women with Visible and Invisible Disabilities: Multiple Intersections, Multiple Issues, Multiple Therapies, which will be simultaneously published as a special issue of Women & Therapy. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association since 1982, serving on its Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, Committee on Women in Psychology, and the Council of Representatives. She has also been President of the Society of the Psychology of Women’s Section on Psychology of Black Women.

Dr. Banks is a collaborator on a variety of research and educational projects: test development of the Ackerman-Banks Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Battery© (normative data collection involved 300 rehabilitation patients across 8 years in 3 states) and the Post-Assault Traumatic Brain Injury Interview and Checklist ©; and software development, including the Basic Brain Functions and Structures© multimedia patient feedback and educational software. She coauthored an interface to neuropsychological and rehabilitation information through a professional web site (http://abackans.com/ ). Dr. Banks is coauthor of an award-winning web site of resources for victims of domestic violence (http://abackans.com/dvresour.html ).

Dr. Banks has been concerned that many victims do not receive comprehensive medical evaluations of and treatment for injuries, especially if the injuries involve the head and neck. Dr. Banks has co-led workshops internationally and published journal articles and book chapters addressing assessment and treatment for victims of violence.

Akron, OH USA - Friday, August 16, 2002 at 20:49:51 (MDT)

Name: Gina Patterson
E-Mail: <glphb@yahoo.com>
Degree(s): Psy.D.
Affiliation: The Counseling Center of Wayne and Holmes Counties
Short Bio:
I'm 31 years old. I received a Psy.D. from Wright State University-SOPP. I completed my pre-doc internship at Michigan State University Counseling Center. My dissertation was on disability training in psychology graduate programs. It was presented at a national conference (I forget which one). I currently work at a rural community mental health center as a staff psychologist providing psychotherapy and assessment to a general population and supervision. I'm white with a hint of Lebanese. I'm also a congenital amputee (born without hands and a left leg). I'm completely self-sufficient with a prosthesis. I'm married and my greatest accomplishment is my 8 month old daughter, Isabel!

USA - Wednesday, August 07, 2002 at 14:22:48 (MDT)