Disabled or Deaf? Investigating mental health clinicians’ knowledge of and attitude towards Deafness as a culture^*

* The convention of capitalizing ‘Deaf’ has been followed when referring to people who consider themselves members of the group who share a language and culture related to their hearing ability. The lower case ‘deaf’ has been used to refer to people who do not consider themselves part of that culture, as well as the physical ability to hear sound.

ABSTRACT

Past research has shown people who predominately use British Sign Language to communicate have their own cultural identity. The current research used an online questionnaire and opportunity sampling to assess clinician awareness of Deaf culture and their knowledge of D/deafness. The UK Department of Health previously published recommendations aimed at making mental health services more accessible for D/deaf individuals and so the current accessibility of services for D/deaf individuals is also considered. The study found mixed attitudes towards Deafness and limited knowledge of Deafness by clinicians working within a mental health context. There appears to be limited implementation of the recommendations given by the Department of Health. Suggestions are given for improving services for D/deaf clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Deaf
• disability
• BSL
• attitudes
• sign language

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Shelley Bartlett http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0845-6777

Notes

* The convention of capitalizing ‘Deaf’ has been followed when referring to people who consider themselves members of the group who share a language and culture related to their hearing ability. The lower case ‘deaf’ has been used to refer to people who do not consider themselves part of that culture, as well as the physical ability to hear sound.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shelley Bartlett

Shelley Bartlett is a trainee clinical psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire. She has a research interest in stigma and has conducted other studies in this area. She is also passionate about ensuring accessibility for people of Deaf culture and spends much of her personal time in this pursuit.