Seeking a fit: Access to mental health care for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

Through the experiences of people who have a hearing loss, i.e., people who are Deaf, deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, or deaf blind who have accessed or tried to access mental health care, this study identified and assessed factors that contribute to successful engagement with mental health providers. A survey tool was developed to elicit, in a systematic way, consumer descriptions of their attempts to access or use mental health services in their state. The tool was piloted informally through the input of community members and disseminated, upon request, to the members of the National Association of the Deaf, a well-known consumer advocacy organization committed to improving mental health care in the US. Results showed that survey respondents experienced successful, and lengthy, engagements with mental health care providers using a wide range of communication modes, languages, and skills. Survey respondents reported providers were knowledgeable about mental health care issues, but not so much hearing loss or Deaf culture. Other provider characteristics, such as language and communication skills were also not high, but respondent reports indicate that they were satisfied with the care they received. The data, including respondent comments, suggest that while most respondents reported successful engagements with mental health care and lengthy treatment involvements, they may not have had an optimal communication environment in which to explore issues in more detail and on deeper levels. These findings suggest that there needs to be some clarification for this population with regard to the level of quality of communication and knowledge of culture, hearing loss, and mental health that is tolerable and/or acceptable in mental health care and, indeed, in many areas of their lives.