Mental health signs for the deaf

A unique video dictionary of mental health signs for the deaf community has been launched by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

This has been developed in response to issues raised by deaf service users and consists of 45 video clips covering topics including such conditions as post traumatic stress disorder, trauma and schizophrenia.

Deaf people are 40 per cent more likely than the hearing population to suffer mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety.

While mental health signs already exist within British Sign Language (BSL), they are rarely fully explained.

Until now, a sign for bipolar did not appear alongside a description of what bipolar is and how it can be described.

This new video glossary has been created to explain mental health terms, the roles of NHS staff within mental health services and treatments for a number of conditions.

The videos were created by Paul Hull, an NHSGGC health improvement worker, who is himself deaf, working with mental health colleagues.

Paul covers the whole health board area, including Renfrewshire, and said: “It’s not just about ensuring patients have the appropriate language, it’s important that deaf people also understand what these terms mean.

“This work is a result of the deaf community making it clear that they face significant barriers while accessing mental health services.

“Our engagement showed that deaf people identified a strong desire to have better knowledge of mental health services in BSL as accessing services had been difficult in the past.”

The videos are available on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s YouTube channel www. nhsggc. org. uk/ bslmh-az