The Shared Experiences of Silenced Struggles of a Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Community in North Carolina Seeking Mental Health Services

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the challenges members of a Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HOH) community in North Carolina have experienced when seeking mental health services. A major challenge is the lack of trained professionals to accommodate the needs of hard-of-hearing and Deaf clients. Barriers include a limited number of providers who know American Sign Language or offer hearing assisted devices to effectively communicate with clients. The theory guiding this study is the social learning theory initially presented by Albert Bandura in 1971. Specific emphasis is placed on learning by direct experience and motivational function of reinforcement. This study uses the social learning theory to apply toward providers as the learners of the Deaf culture, to include training and awareness, with the reinforcement aspects focused on how awareness and training of mental health providers can reduce barriers to mental health services for D/HOH clients. Concept mapping was used to identify themes from participant interview responses to prepared interview questions that were created to address research questions that are foundational to the study to identify barriers, areas of improved awareness and training, and seeking ways to bring a voice to those who may be Deaf and hard-of-hearing, but the hearing are choosing to ignore.