Provision of Mental Health Care Services to Deaf Individuals Using Telehealth

The deaf population has traditionally been marginalized and underserved when it comes to mental health services. The inequity is partly due to a general lack of knowledge about hearing loss and a shortage of linguistically and culturally qualified clinicians in most parts of the United States. Providing access to qualified clinicians via video conferencing technology has been proposed as a possible solution to the inequity problem. This article describes the unique characteristics of the deaf community, explores the benefits and challenges in using telehealth with the deaf population, and discusses current research in this area. The main goal of this article is to educate mental health professionals, stakeholders, and administrators regarding an underutilized videophone infrastructure that exists for the deaf population. The authors also emphasize the need for further research to better understand and service the unique mental health needs of deaf individuals.