Visual Description: Dylan & Kathleen
On the right, Dylan Secord, a fair-skinned man with side-swept brown hair and dressed in a dark navy jacket, sits in a home setting. Kathleen Mitchell, a fair-skinned woman with short light brown hair and dressed in a purple shirt and a loose gray jacket, sits in a home setting.
Image of a logo of DEAF C.A.N.! at the right bottom corner of the video.
Images of logos of Facebook and Instagram at the top of the video.
At the end of the video, images of Facebook, Instagram, and DEAF C.A.N.!. The contact information for Dylan Secord is 2111 Orchard Lake Road - Suite #101 Sylvan Lake, MI 48320, 248-636-2355, and [email protected].
Image of a logo of DEAF C.A.N.! at the right bottom corner of the video.
Images of logos of Facebook and Instagram at the top of the video.
At the end of the video, images of Facebook, Instagram, and DEAF C.A.N.!. The contact information for Dylan Secord is 2111 Orchard Lake Road - Suite #101 Sylvan Lake, MI 48320, 248-636-2355, and [email protected].
Transcript: Dylan & Kathleen
- Hello, my name is Dylan Secord. I'm a clinical social worker at DEAF C.A.N.! And I'm very excited to be here interviewing one of my favorite persons. Would you mind introducing yourself?
- Sure, hello everyone. My name is Kathleen Mitchell. And this is my sign mane, okay, here in the front of me, and I'm thrilled to see you Dylan, how are you?
- I'm good, you know everything has changed so much, but I'm in a positive mindset, and with technology like Zoom, we can have conversations with a lot of wonderful people.
- It's amazing, technology is amazing. I have to agree with you.
- Definitely. So tell me a little bit about your background, and how you became a social worker, and you've got such rich experience. I'd like everybody else in our community to know about you. And all of your hard work and what you have done, it's worth discussing today, so go ahead.
- Well, okay, I am a social worker. Well, lemme back up a little bit. I was raised in a deaf home with deaf parents, in a deaf family. And, in the past, we did not have many signing professionals for our family. For my mom or her children, you know, my siblings. So, I decided to become a social worker and I work with deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people. Mostly deaf people though. Focusing on families and individuals, and children. I worked with group home clients, as well as supervising social workers and staff. You know, new social workers, I would mentor them. And also, I used to sit on the Ethics Committee at a state level. So it was a very good experience for me. I've done a lot of different things, and now, I'm retired, and I am continuing with my social work by volunteering with the deaf senior citizens, weekly. Well, not now, but I done until, you know, the pandemic started, and I'm not sure when they'll open again. But it's every Tuesday at the Deaf Senior Citizen Center. And we do a variety of things there. I refer people for resources, and I read mail, and I do a variety of social work things, and I really enjoy keeping myself busy.
- Yes, you're always so busy. Whether you're with family, or work, or friends, you're always busy. But I'd like to give a little bit of personal, it's just I had such a big role, of my professional development, she was my mentor, my supervisor, I have huge respect for you, so, I'm very happy to be here interviewing you. I want everybody else in the community to see your perspective related to mental health in our deaf community. So, I'm curious, obviously, COVID, has really been a pandemic, and changed our culture, our daily routine, overnight, so, I'm curious, from your perspective, how has COVID impacted our deaf community?
- Well, I've been thinking about this, and I think that it's two-parts. The first part, deaf people did not have full access to mental health services in the state of Michigan. That was already a struggle, in some areas. Some areas did have interpreters, others did not, or some had signing professionals, which was wonderful. Some areas did not have either, interpreters, who they, you know, they wouldn't hire, or they didn't have signing professionals. On top of the other issues that they already have. So there was a lot of problems with that. The second part of this is, during the pandemic, it's causing people a lot of stress. And it's causing people to be isolated. It's also causing people to be anxious and depressed, with the other issues, you know, that really builds up. It builds up. So I see this as a two-part problem. And the impact that it's having, deaf people might not have access to technology.
- Right.
- They might not have family, and of course the families can't come to visit. They might not have a video phone or a computer. They might not know what's happening. They might not understand why so many things are closed, and they can't go places. They might not understand if, you know, if COVID is really a valid issue. If it's really happening. They can't get food, they can't get medication, so there are a lot of things that are happening, especially with deaf senior citizens. Back in the old days, in my parents time, there were some small, you know there are a small group of people who are still living, from my parent's generation. And they're not technically literate, and they have a very different view. And now young people, you know, even people who are in there 60's are using technology. But they're experiencing the same symptoms, depression, anxiety, isolation. Deaf people love their social time, to talk with other deaf people. And now that's not happening.
- Yes.
- But there are some ways that we can help the deaf community. There are some specific ways.
- You make a lot of very good points. When you're explaining about our deaf community, the word, collectivism, comes to mind. We are very collective and that's why we love deaf clubs, like the Detroit Association for the Deaf. And different deaf night out kind of events. And we tend to.
- Yes.
- Work with the family, and socialize with hearing people, we need to take a break, and say, this is our safe space. We see our deaf friends, and so on. And now, COVID has blocked that. And so that is a huge loss, for a lot of us. I think a lot of people don't realize that during this time, we've begun going through a grieving process, Because, we have lost our routine. And like you say, a lot of people already have other personal issues, could be family issues, friends, or whatever. And that is here, but now, with COVID, it's on top of that, and it makes it even worse. You make a very good point. It's very important that we find a way to keep socializing through like video phone or Zoom. But you're absolutely right, it's not always accessible for everyone. So I think it's very important for us as deaf people, who are little more knowledgeable with technology to reach out to people, and check on them, to make sure they're okay. And if they don't have video phone, maybe pull in, not go in, but wave to the window, and we always need that human interaction, right, that contact.
- I agree with you Dylan, yes. One more part that I forgot to add, is substance abuse. Many people who use, do so during isolation.
- Right.
- It makes them feel better. They medicate themselves, so that's another part of the issue too. And I think that maybe our numbers will increase for the deaf community, with substance abuse.
- Yes, you're absolutely right. I think it's very important, right now, that we as a community come together. And we have to understand that each person has a different experience. Some people will say, oh this is nothing, I can stay home. I can be isolated. But some people have to still go to work. It's stressful. Or, there's some people that are laid off from their jobs, so, I think it's very important to be kind, to be respectful to others, and also, you wanted to add, you were talking about information. I've noticed that too, from my work. Yes, there's some information in ASL, out there. But, it's not like two-way interaction. Deaf people tend to like to discuss things, what do you mean by that? And get different perspectives on things. So, like I was saying before, deaf clubs closed, deaf socials are closed, you can't see your friends, your family, so we have lost the ability to really hash things out. Analyze and understand what's happening to us. So I think that's another loss for us.
- So right now, the coping skills and coping strategies, we have several I think, that we could utilize. First of all, ask for help.
- Yes.
- I think, now is not the time for pride, you have to set that aside, ask for help.
- Right.
- It's not gonna hurt. Everyone needs help. It's okay to ask. Go ahead and ask for help. You can ask friends for help. You can ask family members. You can ask agencies. Who you have frequented up to this point. You know they might know of interpreters. So you can let the interpreters know. You know, tell the interpreter, I need help, where can I go? Interpreters are a wealth of resources, you know, because they're out there and working. So, always keep a list of social workers, who work with deaf people. I have that list. You know, and I can give people that information, and they can decide who to call, to see who they want to work with. So, I encourage people to ask for help, especially now. Especially now.
- Yes.
- Hobbies, hobbies are incredible, maybe people have been so busy, that they haven't had time for a hobby, but they're at home now. Maybe they can sew, or start doing puzzles, or playing cards. You can play cards on the computer, with your friends.
- Yes. Yes.
- I did that with my daughter, just recently, the other night. We played Uno, it was really fun. We had a really good time, so those are just a few things you can do. And typically deaf seniors love to play cards. So, maybe there's some way that you can set, you know, ask for help in setting up a card game on the computer. Don't just sit and watch the news all day, about COVID. It's just going to increase your stress.
- Right.
- Maybe just for a short time during the day, that's fine. But all day, don't do it. Its not healthy. Exercise is so important. You can walk outside, it's okay. If it's nice weather you can go ahead and take a walk. I've been walking. You know, 10 or 15 minutes, I think it really helps, you feel so much better, it's revitalizing.
- It gives you a lift.
- So those are the important things that people forget. Just a few things that I think can help.
- You're absolutely right. When you were talking about hobbies, I was thinking myself, what are my hobbies? I need to figure those out. What my hobbies are. Yes, really, I strongly agree with your thing about the news. Yes, it's important to keep up with what's going on, but at the same time you need a balance. You can watch the news, but then watch your favorite TV shows. Or, watch movies and that kind of thing. Also, I wanted to ask. Yeah, what were you saying?
- Well, fairly recently, I was talking with a person and the person had a medical issue, and needed to go to the emergency room. They absolutely had to go to the emergency room. And I warned the person, I said, you know, you better call your doctor first. Don't just show up at the emergency room. Call your primary care doctor and they will tell you what to do.
- Right.
- And the person was kinda surprised by that. So that is very important information that people have been missing. Call your primary care doctor before you go to the emergency room.
- Right too. I know something about what you were saying, asking for help, I totally agree.. I think that we, as a person need to set up our own support systems. When I say support systems, what do I mean by that? Well its like a pie, so you've got a slice that might be friends, and you got a slice that's family, and a slice that's community, and that's therapy. But you always gotta make sure that you've got the full pie, the support system. So, related to therapy, you've worked as a therapist for many years, so I'm curious, how does a deaf person find a good therapist? How does a deaf person prepare for the first therapy session? What would that person be able to do to make sure that they have a good experience?
- Well, there are a few things that a person can do. First of all, maybe they already have a friend, and they could ask the friend. You know, by word of mouth, you know how, news of a good therapist spreads quite quickly.
- Right.
- Also, they can contact an interpreting agency, there are several, and I'm sure they have information.
- Sure.
- Just like your agency DEAF C.A.N.! I know they have resources there.
- Of course. The University of Michigan has resources, private practitioners, are out there. So, as I said, I keep a list. So, deaf people can call, and do the interviewing for themselves. What was the other question Dylan? Oh, oh, oh, right, right, right.
- I was asking about preparing for the first, yes.
- How to prepare? Sure, okay. Sometimes, when you call, to make that initial appointment, the agency, or the person, the therapist, will have some information that they need to have. And they need to let you know also. So when people call me for example, people might call me, to get help, and I would ask them questions, specifically what type of help they wanted. And, you know, maybe they're struggling with their insurance, maybe they can understand their insurance. And so I would ask them to bring their insurance card and any letters that they had received from their insurance company. And they would sit down and have a meeting with me, and I could make some phone calls for them. Now, for counseling, most of the time, councilors, have forms that they need to fill out. So they'll say, bring your ID, bring all of these other things, that's very important that they have these things before they can proceed with the counseling sessions. So, that's what people can do. So when you start the session. The counselor typically will lead the questioning. So they will open with questions. And then, the person can follow through, and answer those questions, that the counselor had. Sometimes, deaf people, think they're going to just talk, chat with the counselor. Or talk about things, you know, other people, but most of the time that would be inappropriate in a counseling session. So a social worker, or therapist needs to explain how to start and proceed the meeting, and why they're there for counseling. And so there are a few ground rules that, need to be explained, because lots of times, deaf people don't understand what therapy means.
- Right. Right, I agree with you. You make alotta good points. I think it's very important to understand, when you go into therapy, don't assume that the therapist or the counselor will fix you. That doesn't work that way. That's not our job. The goal is, in our therapy session, is to, give you all the resources, all of the information, and empower you to figure out which technology, or which skill they need. I need to help improve myself, so that's the key, really when you go into the therapist, in this session. You really have to invest your time, invest your energy, to proceed, and I know it's easy, but, when you go into the therapy room, it's your time, to start your mental health journey, to learn about yourself. To learn how to improve. And ask questions about to therapy. And the important thing is to have some feedback. If you just feel like your therapist is off point, or the techniques they're teaching is not appropriate, say, hey this is not working for me. Because, as a therapist, I can't know what's in your mind, and what's not working for you. It has to be a two-way communication and a dialogue. So, you're absolutely right.
- Yes, that's true. And another thing to remember also, is that many deaf people, come from hearing families, and hearing homes.
- Right.
- They're reliant on others. For example, they say, oh, my kids know what's going on, they'll explain it to to you, therapist. That's not gonna work. So that process is a very long process, working with deaf people, and proceeding through that. It's much quicker with a hearing person, they can proceed through the process much quicker. So, therapists who are working with an interpreter, need to know that, that this process takes longer. And they need to understand that. It's a totally different process. With hearing people, and deaf people. So that's why I say, that deaf people, really don't have full access to mental health services.
- And that is true. I think that the therapist, those of us that work with deaf people, and that's our top goal, is always to make sure that our deaf clients have full access. Yes, when I went to grad school, and learned to become a clinic social worker, I learned the hearing way, but then I went into start working and interning, and I thought, oh my gosh, that's not working. Some of it did, I could borrow some of those techniques, but for deaf individuals, it has to be a deaf way. So, you've gotta be respectful, and that's part of the process, yes. Well thank you so much, for the afternoon, to have a chat with me today. And anything you wanna add, as a last minute comment before closing this terrific interview.
- Well, for other people, not only for young people, but for other people, you know, abled people like you, like me, I encourage you, during this pandemic, it's such a sad time of COVID. I encourage you to check-in with people, Check-in with deaf people, who you know, regardless of whether or not they're young or old. I try to call two people every day.
- Wow.
- Just to ask how they're doing. Just to check-in on them. And I know a lot of people are really, you know, they're in assisted living, they're shut-in, they just stay in their room. And there's not interaction, so please, I'm encouraging people to make one or two phone calls.
- Absolutely.
- You'll just really brighten someone's day, if you call them. Just 10 or 15 minutes out of your time. Check on them, make sure, you know, if they're living in a house, ask them if they have enough food. If they don't, just drop a bag of groceries on their front porch. Pack up something small for them, you know, just some cookies or a game, a puzzle, pack a bag, and leave it on their front porch, and let them know that its there. Like a little care package, if you would.
- Yes.
- So I'm encouraging everyone to do that. And as you said, be kind, be respectful, it's so important.
- Right.
- Especially nowadays, you know, this time in our lives, we need to take care of each other.
- Right, definitely. What you said was so great. Thank you so much for your time, and the opportunity to chat with me today. Thank you all for watching our interview. Bye everybody. Thank you so much.
- Sure, hello everyone. My name is Kathleen Mitchell. And this is my sign mane, okay, here in the front of me, and I'm thrilled to see you Dylan, how are you?
- I'm good, you know everything has changed so much, but I'm in a positive mindset, and with technology like Zoom, we can have conversations with a lot of wonderful people.
- It's amazing, technology is amazing. I have to agree with you.
- Definitely. So tell me a little bit about your background, and how you became a social worker, and you've got such rich experience. I'd like everybody else in our community to know about you. And all of your hard work and what you have done, it's worth discussing today, so go ahead.
- Well, okay, I am a social worker. Well, lemme back up a little bit. I was raised in a deaf home with deaf parents, in a deaf family. And, in the past, we did not have many signing professionals for our family. For my mom or her children, you know, my siblings. So, I decided to become a social worker and I work with deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people. Mostly deaf people though. Focusing on families and individuals, and children. I worked with group home clients, as well as supervising social workers and staff. You know, new social workers, I would mentor them. And also, I used to sit on the Ethics Committee at a state level. So it was a very good experience for me. I've done a lot of different things, and now, I'm retired, and I am continuing with my social work by volunteering with the deaf senior citizens, weekly. Well, not now, but I done until, you know, the pandemic started, and I'm not sure when they'll open again. But it's every Tuesday at the Deaf Senior Citizen Center. And we do a variety of things there. I refer people for resources, and I read mail, and I do a variety of social work things, and I really enjoy keeping myself busy.
- Yes, you're always so busy. Whether you're with family, or work, or friends, you're always busy. But I'd like to give a little bit of personal, it's just I had such a big role, of my professional development, she was my mentor, my supervisor, I have huge respect for you, so, I'm very happy to be here interviewing you. I want everybody else in the community to see your perspective related to mental health in our deaf community. So, I'm curious, obviously, COVID, has really been a pandemic, and changed our culture, our daily routine, overnight, so, I'm curious, from your perspective, how has COVID impacted our deaf community?
- Well, I've been thinking about this, and I think that it's two-parts. The first part, deaf people did not have full access to mental health services in the state of Michigan. That was already a struggle, in some areas. Some areas did have interpreters, others did not, or some had signing professionals, which was wonderful. Some areas did not have either, interpreters, who they, you know, they wouldn't hire, or they didn't have signing professionals. On top of the other issues that they already have. So there was a lot of problems with that. The second part of this is, during the pandemic, it's causing people a lot of stress. And it's causing people to be isolated. It's also causing people to be anxious and depressed, with the other issues, you know, that really builds up. It builds up. So I see this as a two-part problem. And the impact that it's having, deaf people might not have access to technology.
- Right.
- They might not have family, and of course the families can't come to visit. They might not have a video phone or a computer. They might not know what's happening. They might not understand why so many things are closed, and they can't go places. They might not understand if, you know, if COVID is really a valid issue. If it's really happening. They can't get food, they can't get medication, so there are a lot of things that are happening, especially with deaf senior citizens. Back in the old days, in my parents time, there were some small, you know there are a small group of people who are still living, from my parent's generation. And they're not technically literate, and they have a very different view. And now young people, you know, even people who are in there 60's are using technology. But they're experiencing the same symptoms, depression, anxiety, isolation. Deaf people love their social time, to talk with other deaf people. And now that's not happening.
- Yes.
- But there are some ways that we can help the deaf community. There are some specific ways.
- You make a lot of very good points. When you're explaining about our deaf community, the word, collectivism, comes to mind. We are very collective and that's why we love deaf clubs, like the Detroit Association for the Deaf. And different deaf night out kind of events. And we tend to.
- Yes.
- Work with the family, and socialize with hearing people, we need to take a break, and say, this is our safe space. We see our deaf friends, and so on. And now, COVID has blocked that. And so that is a huge loss, for a lot of us. I think a lot of people don't realize that during this time, we've begun going through a grieving process, Because, we have lost our routine. And like you say, a lot of people already have other personal issues, could be family issues, friends, or whatever. And that is here, but now, with COVID, it's on top of that, and it makes it even worse. You make a very good point. It's very important that we find a way to keep socializing through like video phone or Zoom. But you're absolutely right, it's not always accessible for everyone. So I think it's very important for us as deaf people, who are little more knowledgeable with technology to reach out to people, and check on them, to make sure they're okay. And if they don't have video phone, maybe pull in, not go in, but wave to the window, and we always need that human interaction, right, that contact.
- I agree with you Dylan, yes. One more part that I forgot to add, is substance abuse. Many people who use, do so during isolation.
- Right.
- It makes them feel better. They medicate themselves, so that's another part of the issue too. And I think that maybe our numbers will increase for the deaf community, with substance abuse.
- Yes, you're absolutely right. I think it's very important, right now, that we as a community come together. And we have to understand that each person has a different experience. Some people will say, oh this is nothing, I can stay home. I can be isolated. But some people have to still go to work. It's stressful. Or, there's some people that are laid off from their jobs, so, I think it's very important to be kind, to be respectful to others, and also, you wanted to add, you were talking about information. I've noticed that too, from my work. Yes, there's some information in ASL, out there. But, it's not like two-way interaction. Deaf people tend to like to discuss things, what do you mean by that? And get different perspectives on things. So, like I was saying before, deaf clubs closed, deaf socials are closed, you can't see your friends, your family, so we have lost the ability to really hash things out. Analyze and understand what's happening to us. So I think that's another loss for us.
- So right now, the coping skills and coping strategies, we have several I think, that we could utilize. First of all, ask for help.
- Yes.
- I think, now is not the time for pride, you have to set that aside, ask for help.
- Right.
- It's not gonna hurt. Everyone needs help. It's okay to ask. Go ahead and ask for help. You can ask friends for help. You can ask family members. You can ask agencies. Who you have frequented up to this point. You know they might know of interpreters. So you can let the interpreters know. You know, tell the interpreter, I need help, where can I go? Interpreters are a wealth of resources, you know, because they're out there and working. So, always keep a list of social workers, who work with deaf people. I have that list. You know, and I can give people that information, and they can decide who to call, to see who they want to work with. So, I encourage people to ask for help, especially now. Especially now.
- Yes.
- Hobbies, hobbies are incredible, maybe people have been so busy, that they haven't had time for a hobby, but they're at home now. Maybe they can sew, or start doing puzzles, or playing cards. You can play cards on the computer, with your friends.
- Yes. Yes.
- I did that with my daughter, just recently, the other night. We played Uno, it was really fun. We had a really good time, so those are just a few things you can do. And typically deaf seniors love to play cards. So, maybe there's some way that you can set, you know, ask for help in setting up a card game on the computer. Don't just sit and watch the news all day, about COVID. It's just going to increase your stress.
- Right.
- Maybe just for a short time during the day, that's fine. But all day, don't do it. Its not healthy. Exercise is so important. You can walk outside, it's okay. If it's nice weather you can go ahead and take a walk. I've been walking. You know, 10 or 15 minutes, I think it really helps, you feel so much better, it's revitalizing.
- It gives you a lift.
- So those are the important things that people forget. Just a few things that I think can help.
- You're absolutely right. When you were talking about hobbies, I was thinking myself, what are my hobbies? I need to figure those out. What my hobbies are. Yes, really, I strongly agree with your thing about the news. Yes, it's important to keep up with what's going on, but at the same time you need a balance. You can watch the news, but then watch your favorite TV shows. Or, watch movies and that kind of thing. Also, I wanted to ask. Yeah, what were you saying?
- Well, fairly recently, I was talking with a person and the person had a medical issue, and needed to go to the emergency room. They absolutely had to go to the emergency room. And I warned the person, I said, you know, you better call your doctor first. Don't just show up at the emergency room. Call your primary care doctor and they will tell you what to do.
- Right.
- And the person was kinda surprised by that. So that is very important information that people have been missing. Call your primary care doctor before you go to the emergency room.
- Right too. I know something about what you were saying, asking for help, I totally agree.. I think that we, as a person need to set up our own support systems. When I say support systems, what do I mean by that? Well its like a pie, so you've got a slice that might be friends, and you got a slice that's family, and a slice that's community, and that's therapy. But you always gotta make sure that you've got the full pie, the support system. So, related to therapy, you've worked as a therapist for many years, so I'm curious, how does a deaf person find a good therapist? How does a deaf person prepare for the first therapy session? What would that person be able to do to make sure that they have a good experience?
- Well, there are a few things that a person can do. First of all, maybe they already have a friend, and they could ask the friend. You know, by word of mouth, you know how, news of a good therapist spreads quite quickly.
- Right.
- Also, they can contact an interpreting agency, there are several, and I'm sure they have information.
- Sure.
- Just like your agency DEAF C.A.N.! I know they have resources there.
- Of course. The University of Michigan has resources, private practitioners, are out there. So, as I said, I keep a list. So, deaf people can call, and do the interviewing for themselves. What was the other question Dylan? Oh, oh, oh, right, right, right.
- I was asking about preparing for the first, yes.
- How to prepare? Sure, okay. Sometimes, when you call, to make that initial appointment, the agency, or the person, the therapist, will have some information that they need to have. And they need to let you know also. So when people call me for example, people might call me, to get help, and I would ask them questions, specifically what type of help they wanted. And, you know, maybe they're struggling with their insurance, maybe they can understand their insurance. And so I would ask them to bring their insurance card and any letters that they had received from their insurance company. And they would sit down and have a meeting with me, and I could make some phone calls for them. Now, for counseling, most of the time, councilors, have forms that they need to fill out. So they'll say, bring your ID, bring all of these other things, that's very important that they have these things before they can proceed with the counseling sessions. So, that's what people can do. So when you start the session. The counselor typically will lead the questioning. So they will open with questions. And then, the person can follow through, and answer those questions, that the counselor had. Sometimes, deaf people, think they're going to just talk, chat with the counselor. Or talk about things, you know, other people, but most of the time that would be inappropriate in a counseling session. So a social worker, or therapist needs to explain how to start and proceed the meeting, and why they're there for counseling. And so there are a few ground rules that, need to be explained, because lots of times, deaf people don't understand what therapy means.
- Right. Right, I agree with you. You make alotta good points. I think it's very important to understand, when you go into therapy, don't assume that the therapist or the counselor will fix you. That doesn't work that way. That's not our job. The goal is, in our therapy session, is to, give you all the resources, all of the information, and empower you to figure out which technology, or which skill they need. I need to help improve myself, so that's the key, really when you go into the therapist, in this session. You really have to invest your time, invest your energy, to proceed, and I know it's easy, but, when you go into the therapy room, it's your time, to start your mental health journey, to learn about yourself. To learn how to improve. And ask questions about to therapy. And the important thing is to have some feedback. If you just feel like your therapist is off point, or the techniques they're teaching is not appropriate, say, hey this is not working for me. Because, as a therapist, I can't know what's in your mind, and what's not working for you. It has to be a two-way communication and a dialogue. So, you're absolutely right.
- Yes, that's true. And another thing to remember also, is that many deaf people, come from hearing families, and hearing homes.
- Right.
- They're reliant on others. For example, they say, oh, my kids know what's going on, they'll explain it to to you, therapist. That's not gonna work. So that process is a very long process, working with deaf people, and proceeding through that. It's much quicker with a hearing person, they can proceed through the process much quicker. So, therapists who are working with an interpreter, need to know that, that this process takes longer. And they need to understand that. It's a totally different process. With hearing people, and deaf people. So that's why I say, that deaf people, really don't have full access to mental health services.
- And that is true. I think that the therapist, those of us that work with deaf people, and that's our top goal, is always to make sure that our deaf clients have full access. Yes, when I went to grad school, and learned to become a clinic social worker, I learned the hearing way, but then I went into start working and interning, and I thought, oh my gosh, that's not working. Some of it did, I could borrow some of those techniques, but for deaf individuals, it has to be a deaf way. So, you've gotta be respectful, and that's part of the process, yes. Well thank you so much, for the afternoon, to have a chat with me today. And anything you wanna add, as a last minute comment before closing this terrific interview.
- Well, for other people, not only for young people, but for other people, you know, abled people like you, like me, I encourage you, during this pandemic, it's such a sad time of COVID. I encourage you to check-in with people, Check-in with deaf people, who you know, regardless of whether or not they're young or old. I try to call two people every day.
- Wow.
- Just to ask how they're doing. Just to check-in on them. And I know a lot of people are really, you know, they're in assisted living, they're shut-in, they just stay in their room. And there's not interaction, so please, I'm encouraging people to make one or two phone calls.
- Absolutely.
- You'll just really brighten someone's day, if you call them. Just 10 or 15 minutes out of your time. Check on them, make sure, you know, if they're living in a house, ask them if they have enough food. If they don't, just drop a bag of groceries on their front porch. Pack up something small for them, you know, just some cookies or a game, a puzzle, pack a bag, and leave it on their front porch, and let them know that its there. Like a little care package, if you would.
- Yes.
- So I'm encouraging everyone to do that. And as you said, be kind, be respectful, it's so important.
- Right.
- Especially nowadays, you know, this time in our lives, we need to take care of each other.
- Right, definitely. What you said was so great. Thank you so much for your time, and the opportunity to chat with me today. Thank you all for watching our interview. Bye everybody. Thank you so much.