Art psychotherapy with people who are deaf or hearing impaired

Abstract

Deafness can be a traumatic disability in itself, but when linked to mental health problems the real impact of it is highlighted, where a silent world can become both confusing and frightening. The general population relies on the National Health Service when they are ill or experiencing mental health problems but what happens if that service is not readily available to people because they are deaf? This would appear to be the case with art psychotherapy. This paper looks briefly at the history of deaf people in medical institutions and tries to determine if their individual needs have been catered for, where and when art has been used therapeutically with this client group and any possible reasons why it is not already an established service. It draws on the experiences of a deaf art psychotherapist who is particularly interested in looking at communication and how important this is in enabling the development of a therapeutic relationship.