For my Public Policy thesis, I conducted original research to explore what mental health clinicians know about treating d/Deaf patients. This included a survey I made myself as well as several interviews with clinicians. Below is the abstract for my thesis examining mental health clinicians’ knowledge of treating deaf patients. The full thesis is also linked below. My thesis was nominated for honors by the University of Chicago Public Policy Department.

Around 1.9% of the U.S. population is deaf, making for over 6 million deaf people in the U.S. Previous research has shown that deaf adults are consistently given inadequate mental healthcare, and that physicians overall do not have extensive knowledge of how to treat deaf patients. This study aims to examine mental health clinicians’ knowledge in specific, using both an online survey and semi-structured interviews. Mental health clinicians had an average correct answer score of only 17.56 out of 27 (65%). Participants scored particularly bad on questions asking about logistics of the ADA (such as payment) and interpreters.  Two thirds of respondents (21 out of 32) admit that they are either “not very confident” or “not at all confident” in providing the same level of care to a deaf person compared to a hearing person. Nearly half of respondents (14 out of 32) reported knowing little or nothing about their responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This indicates a need for change regarding psychologist training. Insights from the interviews revealed that a Continuing Education module about how to treat deaf patients would be the most useful, including information on the history of d/Deaf oppression, biological interactions between deafness and mental health, Deaf experience/culture, and working with interpreters.

Below are slides from a symposium presentation I gave on February 9 2024.