Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Advance Access originally published online on September 10, 2007
The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 2008 13(2):305; doi:10.1093/deafed/enm048
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Beautiful Minds
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
S. Austen & S Crocker. (Eds.). (2004). Deafness in Mind: Working Psychologically with Deaf People across the Lifespan. London: Whurr Publishers Ltd. 359 pages. Paperback. $100.00
Deafness in Mind by Sally Austen and Susan Crocker will appeal to any clinician seeking to work with deaf individuals. It broadly addresses current research applicable to psychological practice with deaf people of all ages, substantially adding to the evidence-based psychological understanding of mental health and deafness.
The contributing authors not only represent a range of theoretical and practical approaches primarily from clinical psychology but also psychiatry, medicine, speech/language therapy, and audiology. At first, I wondered which authors were deaf or hearing, but by the end of the book it did not matter. In addition to the political, social, and emotional condition of the clients, the authors discuss issues of cross-cultural counseling and the role of the hearing therapist with a deaf client, as well as topics sensitive to the Deaf community, such as medical aspects of deafness, newborn hearing screening, and cochlear implants.
The organization of this book will appeal to both novice readers and experienced clinicians. In Part I, readers are not only introduced to deafness but also exposed to the more provocative and important controversies the Deaf community faces today; for example, the medical model versus Deaf culture, deafness as disability, the oral/manual debate, infant screening, cochlear implants, and more. Part II explores a variety of theoretical approaches to mental health work with deaf people. Interestingly, issues of culture, race, communication, and diversity are spread throughout and not reserved for separate chapters. This broadened my perspective as they related to therapeutic approaches and individual differences of the deaf population. Part III covers a broad range of mental health services available in the UK and the influence of various factors in mental health counseling such as the role of interpreters, substance abuse, cochlear implants, schizophrenia, and the impact of secondary disabilities on the treatment process. The focus is on what is clinically and culturally appropriate for the deaf individual. Napier and Cornes effectively state, "Culturally appropriate therapeutic interventions are necessary to address existing difficulties to ensure they do not become enduring barriers to the attainment of social and emotional well-being." (P. 176). Part IV introduces new research on suggestibility in the use of forensic therapy, counseling stroke survivors with sign language impairments, nonorganic hearing loss, and working with survivors of sexual abuse who are Deaf.
Readers will come to value the complexity of the Deaf community and the importance of individual differences. Deafness in Mind offers a variety of venues for thinking about people who are deaf and what research tells us about theory and practice in psychological intervention. It does not judge one clinical approach over another, nor the deaf or hearing people involved in the therapeutic alliance. This book simply describes what is seen by these authors hoping to bring readers increased understanding and strengthened confidence in the provision of mental health services for deaf people. This is a rich text, filled with varying perspectives on the politics, emotional and cognitive challenges, and on the diversity, complexity, and beauty of the culture and community of people who are deaf. Deaf people are people first whose uniqueness and humanity deserve our understanding and respect. Deafness in Mind provides a bridge for clinicians seeking that understanding.
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