Mental Health: The Need for Psychologists & Therapists

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SkirtNtiePhD

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Hello,
I am new to this forum and am wondering, in general, what the need is for Psychologists, Therapists and Psychiatrists in the deaf community? Are there many out there? Or is there a strong need for them? I am considering a career as a Psychologist specializing in ASL....what are your options for marriage and family counseling? Child counseling? What do you think? If you were going through a really rough time, could you quickly find a Psychologist that knows ASL in the phone book to help you out?
Thanks
 
That's an AWESOME IDEAR!!!!! I do know that mental illness seems to be really common in the D/deaf population. Many if not most schools for the Deaf have programs for emoitionally maladjusted kids.....
I grew up oral, and I think that the emphasis on growing up "healthy normal" really played hell with my self esteem and so caused depression.
Oh, and Gally has a program for psycologists and everything.
 
From what I have heard from everyone involved in the deaf community, mental health professionals are DESPERATELY needed. Even simply as a language barrier, it is difficult. There are very few MH people who know anything about ASL and deaf culture; and using an interpreter to talk about something as sensitive as your mentally health...ARG. Things can be misunderstood by the interpreter, plus there are many aspects of deaf culture that these MH professionals don't understand. IE, if a deaf person described a person as fat with stringy hair and ugly, the MH person might think that the deaf person was being rude and had something against the described person, when really the deaf person was just being blunt.
Beyond that, many deaf people grow up with NO language up to their first five years of life; the best and most critical time to learn language. This makes expressing themselves through language at any time in their life a lot more difficult. Thirdly, many deaf kids do grow up isolated from their families, who often don't sign, and have issues with the hearing world in general.
Long story short: Mental health professionals are DESPERATELY needed in the deaf community.
 
Like two other ADers said, -- mental health professionals are in high demand. It is wonderful for the Deaf community to have access to health professionals that can communicate and thus omit the necessary of having an interpreter to ensure one's privacy.

Many deaf people hesistate to look for help because they feel embarassed to inform their interp services that they want an interp for their therapy appt. Not even to mention the DIFFICULTY to find an available interpreter which makes the client having second thoughts about seeking for help.

The last therapy I had was when I was young (while my parents were divorcing) and I had an interpreter... even to today I still bump into her. Usually if she interp for me and few other deaf clients, the other deaf usualy ask us: "how do you both know eachother??" She was being professional and said, "Oh i worked with her in the past, that's all" while I was being frank: "Actually she interpreted for me when my parents were in process of getting a divorce and I was required by the court to be placed in a theapy session.... is that enough information for you?" That is when they knew they were being too snoopy.

:)
 
a mental health profesional who signs...understands D/deaf...that is so awesome! i live in a fairly good sized city and there are NO mental health profesional medical doctors are very few...who can sign and getting an inturpt is not easy ...the govn offices could use some help.....oh im sorry i got on a ramble there...
 
Isn't there even a mental health center in Fla especially for dhh people? And I remember reading that there's a residental treatment center that has a dhh program......
 
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