Therapy for Deaf People

Finding a therapist who understands Deaf culture and communicates directly in ASL can be challenging. Working with a therapist who already understands the Deaf community can help you spend less time explaining your experiences and more time doing the work that brought you to therapy.

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Being Deaf is not a mental health problem. However, navigating a predominantly hearing world can come with unique stressors, including loneliness, isolation, dinner table fatigue, communication barriers, feeling misunderstood by family or colleagues, and the exhaustion of constantly adapting to environments that were not designed with you in mind.

 

Therapy can provide a space where these experiences are understood without requiring you to educate your therapist about Deaf culture or justify your experiences.

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Benefits of a Deaf Therapist

• Direct communication: Communicate in ASL without relying on an interpreter.

• No interpreter or VRS needed: Focus on your therapy goals without the additional logistics of interpreted communication.

• Cultural understanding: Explore your experiences without having to explain why being Deaf is not the problem that needs to be fixed.

• Shared perspective: Work with someone who understands the nuances of navigating both Deaf and hearing spaces.

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My Experience as a Deaf Person

As a Deaf therapist, I bring both professional training and lived experience to my work. I understand that there is no single way to be Deaf, and your experiences with communication, identity, relationships, and community are uniquely yours.

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My own experiences include attending a mainstream Deaf program in elementary school and high school, navigating IEPs and 504 plans, attending CSUN for college, and using ASL interpreters and CART captioning services throughout my education. I have worked and socialized in predominantly hearing environments, built relationships within the Deaf community, and navigated relationships with hearing people. I also have experience navigating systems that affect Deaf and disabled people, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employment discrimination, SSI/SSDI, and vocational rehabilitation.

 

These experiences inform my understanding of the practical, social, and cultural challenges that may arise in your life. You do not have to share my experiences for us to work together. My role is to understand yours.

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My Approach​​

My approach is informed by the social and cultural model of disability. Rather than assuming that your body or disability is the problem to be fixed, this perspective recognizes how inaccessible environments, social expectations, discrimination, and communication barriers can affect your well-being.

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Therapy is not about making you fit into a hearing world that may not accommodate you. It is about helping you determine what matters to you, navigate the realities of your circumstances, develop healthier relationships and boundaries, and build a life that reflects your values.

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Whether you are navigating family relationships, dating, work, identity, burnout, or the emotional toll of living between Deaf and hearing worlds, therapy can offer a space to explore these experiences on your terms.

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Virtual therapy is available to clients throughout California and Pennsylvania.