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Stephen Hamerdinger, Director
Among the one in five Alabamians who will need
mental health services in their lifetimes are more
than 39,000 people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Because deafness or hearing loss poses unique
challenges in coping with stresses of daily life and
with accessing and receiving treatment services, the
Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation has established an Office of Deaf
Services to better serve deaf and hard of hearing
Alabamians.
Over 4,000 individuals are served annually in the
state-operated facilities, while over 100,000 receive
services in certified
community-based programs.
CULTURALLY AFFIRMATIVE SERVICES
People who are deaf or hard of hearing have
difficulty finding services that are linguistically
accessible to them. When they do find services where
someone "signs," often those services do not take
into account the special cultural considerations
that often make the difference between successful
treatment and relapse and recidivism. Our programs
will be designed by people who are deaf to not only
be linguistically accessible but also culturally
affirmative, giving the consumer every opportunity
to make progress to recovery.
Programs
Regionally based coordinators
The heart of Alabama Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation's deaf services program is a network
of regionally based coordinators who specialize in
working with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Based in community mental health centers, these
coordinators are the first point of contact for
services.
The Bailey Deaf Unit
A specialized inpatient unit is located Greil
Hospital in Montgomery. It has10 beds, with two beds,
and is designed to be a culturally affirmative program
with signing staff who are trained to work with people
who are mentally ill and deaf. The unit is designed to
serve people who are deaf or hard of hearing and who
have mental illness or co- occurring disorders .This
program aims be a leader in providing culturally
affirmative services to deaf people with mental illness.
Group Homes
Located in Birmingham and Mobile, group homes
have been restructured to serve as an "intermediate
care" program, helping people who are ready to leave
the Deaf Unit but not ready to live independently in
the community. Admission to the group homes is
coordinated by the regional coordinators in
conjunction with the local community mental health
centers overseeing the programs. There are currently
two 3-bed group homes in Birmingham and one
Deaf-Blind group home which are run by
Jefferson/Blount/St. Clair Mental Health Mental
Retardation Authority. There is one three bed group
home in Mobile which is run by the AltaPointe Health
Systems.
Training
Mental Health Interpreter Training
We have established a special training for
interpreters to help them work better in mental health
settings. This training will lead to a special
certification as a qualified mental health interpreter.
Alabama is the first state in the nation to specifically
define what skills and knowledge are needed to work
effectively as an interpreter in mental health settings.
These standards are part of the Code of Alabama. See
Available Documents for additional information.
Continuing Education Forms: (in MS Word format)
Peer-Reviewed Article Written by ODS Staff
Clinical Training
- Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation is committed to developing the BEST
program for people with hearing loss in the country.
We will also be working to develop:
- Teaching deaf and hard of hearing people about
mental illness and substance abuse, emphasizing the
potential for recovery.
- Training for facilities and providers to help
them understand the importance of culturally and
linguistically appropriate services.
- Intense and focused training for clinicians who
work with clients who are deaf.
- A special program to train psychiatrists to work
with deaf or hard of hearing people.
- A training program to teach deaf and hard of
hearing people to work as clinical professionals in
our system.
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