CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BARRIERS TO MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICE ACCESS - THE DEAF CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE

Objective: The authors investigated knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about mental illness and proiders held by a group of deaf adults. Meth od: The American Sign Language interviews of 54 deaf adults were analy zed. Results: Recurrent themes included mistrust of providers, communi cation difficulty as a primary cause of mental health problems, profou nd concern with communication in therapy, and widespread ignorance abo ut how to obtain services. Conclusions: Deaf consumers' views need due consideration in service delivery planning. Outreach regarding existi ng programs is essential.