Although interpreting services are frequently available, specialized mental health services for deaf and hard of hearing people appears to be relatively hard to find. From time to time, I get an e-mail request for information about such programs for deaf people in need of such services. A long time ago, I myself needed such services locally and the only program I could find was a small county-run program that had therapists who could sign. The program was so small that it could not serve many people, and I was fortunate to be able to get services at a time that I needed them.
Deaf children and teens are also sometimes in need of mental health services. Just as hearing teens may have emotional or mental problems, or be troubled and involved with drug abuse, so do deaf and hard of hearing teens. Finding needed services for troubled deafchildren and teenscan be difficult. One couple I know had to search all over the United States to find a residential program for their deaf teenager.
Mental Health Centers
Gallaudet University in Washington, DC has a mental health center that serves both the Gallaudet community and deaf/hoh people from outside the Gallaudet community. In addition, the Gallaudet Research Institute publishes a mental health directory, "Mental Health Services for Deaf People: A Resource Directory." Mental health services for deaf people are becoming more accessible through the internet; the Alternative Solutions Center, a deaf-owned practice, provides psychotherapy and consulting through video and e-mail as well as in-person consultantions.
State-Provided Services and Social Services Agencies
Some states offer special programs for mental health services, including:
- Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation has an Office of Deaf Services.
- Indiana has a deaf and hard of hearing mental health cooperative.
- Missouri has a mental health unit for the deaf that also includes a mental health interpreting project. The Missouri department of mental health also has a special program for deaf treatment family homes for deaf children and teens with mental health needs, a joint project of the department and the Missouri School for the Deaf.
- New York's New York Society for the Deaf provides mental health services.
- North Carolina has a statewide network of regional specialists.
- South Carolina has a statewide referral program for deaf and hard of hearing patients, plus a group home. Mental health professionals working with deaf/hoh people can communicate with each other through the state-sponsored Deafnet.
Treatment Hospitals
A few hospitals have specialized programs. For example, the Austin State Hospital in Texas has a specialized inpatient psychiatric program within its center for the deaf. A similar hospital in Texas is the Green Oaks Mental Health Hospital in Dallas, Texas.
Halfway Houses
Halfway houses for deaf and hard of hearing people recovering from mental illness or addiction are scarce. There isa Deaf Freedom House in Fort Worth, Texas for deaf people recovering from addiction or mental illness,and another program in Washington, DC run by Deaf-Reach.
Schools with Specialized Services
Residential services for deaf children and teens are difficult to find. Information to Go maintains a listing of Residential Programs for Emotionally Disturbed Deaf Children and Adolescents. This listing has contact information for programs such as the Cathedral Home for Children in Wyoming, and the National Deaf Academy in Mount Dora, Florida. Another residential group home is the Laurent Clerc group home run by The New York Foundling, in New York City.
