adminMental Health with Dr Mazvita Machinga
DEAF people, like anyone else sometimes have need for mental health services.
They face challenging experiences and would like to talk about them in a safe, trusting and confidential setting. Deaf people sometimes need help in their lives in order to cope with grief, addictions, trauma, life transitions, parenting issues, violence or other problems in their families. But they can rarely find anyone to help the, address these issues.
They need help to address and resolve issues and see positive changes in their lives too. They need one-on-one therapy, family mediation, couples and marriage counselling.
Just because there is an inadequacy of Mental Health services for deaf and hard of hearing people in Zimbabwe, an initiative is important. In a research that was done out of 1 000 deaf people in the USA, 85 percent prefer a deaf counsellor over a hearing counsellor.
This means that deaf people overwhelmingly prefer to work with deaf counsellors. They need help from someone who understands deaf issues and experiences. Another research that was done revealed that the prevalence of mental illness among deaf people is at least as high as in the general population (UCSF, 2004).
Furthermore, findings from another research reveal that the rate of Axis I mental health disorders such as anxiety, mood problems, substance abuse and psychotic problems does not differ between hearing and deaf populations – but if services are available it is usually only for the hearing, hence this initiative.
Nzeve Deaf Centre in Sakubva, Mutare in collaboration with Dr Mazvita Machinga, a qualified psychotherapist, researcher and academic have embarked on an innovative capacity building training for deaf counsellors. Since people with hearing impairment frequently encounter life challenges and need opportunities for counselling, this training has been started as the first of its kind to be conducted at Nzeve.
The initial group of prospective counsellors will undergo a three month theoretical training and then two months attachment with supervision.
Video learning and roles play will be used to help participants grasp counselling skills and techniques. After this training the group will be available to the deaf community and assist them with basic counselling services.
The graduands will continue to participate in monthly clinical supervision to ensure that their services are useful to those in need. After this training, any deaf people in the community are welcome to visit Nzeve for counselling needs.
Participants in this training program will also get training on psycho-education topics that they can offer to deaf people. Topics such as communicating abuse, anger management and stress management techniques will be provided. It is important to recognise that not only deaf adults need counselling, deaf children and teens are also sometimes in need of mental health services.
Just as hearing teens may sometimes have emotional or mental problems or be troubled and involved with drug abuse, or identity issues, so may deaf and hard-of-hearing teens. We know deaf people access physical health care from local health institutions with some difficulty due to the language barrier, but finding mental health services for troubled deaf children and teens is even more difficult.
In light of this, Phase Two of this training will be done for deaf youth peer counsellors. This training will equip deaf youth to be able to offer peer counselling to their colleagues.
We are calling for any well-wishers who may want to support in kind or cash the training of these deaf adults and youth to contact Mr Joseph Koza (administrator, Nzeve 020-66339) or Mr Graham Muzanechita (PCCS 0714458458). Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Remember disability does not mean inability. Join us in making a difference in the Deaf communities.
For more information on counselling, psychotherapy and mental health issues contact Dr Mazvita Machinga Ph. D a trained psychotherapist on 0771 754 519 or email [email protected]
Online Reporter