Mental Health Center For The Deaf At Western State Hospital
The Mental Health Center for the Deaf at Western State Hospital addresses the cultural and linguistic needs of people who are deaf and hard of hearing within the safety and structure of an inpatient setting. The Center evaluates and serves people who are deaf, deafblind, late deafened, and hard of hearing. Each referral is considered for admission on a case-by-case basis to make sure that the milieu can address the individual’s communication and treatment needs. We accept patients who have psychiatric conditions, individuals who are in need of forensic evaluations, persons with (mild) mental retardation or other developmental disabilities, and individuals with substance abuse problems.
The MHCD is part of the DMHMRSAS continuity of care and we seek to return the patient to the least restrictive environment that can meet the individual's communication and treatment needs in the community.
As a part of DMHMRSAS’ overall mission to enable all Virginians with mental illnesses to live in the least restrictive environment possible, the Mental Health Center For The Deaf (MHCD) at Western State Hospital seeks to promote the mental health and independent living abilities of deaf, hard-of-hearing, late deafened, and deaf-blind persons who are admitted for psychiatric hospitalization.
The MHCD provides services in accordance with Western State Hospital's core principles of psychiatric rehabilitation. Assessment and diagnosis, made by a multi-disciplinary team, considers biological, psychological, and social influences on behavior.
Services include diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric conditions and symptoms, forensic evaluations and related services, substance abuse evaluations and related services, and training programs to increase self-care and self-control skills.
The goal of the MHCD is to assist patients to attain the functional capacity for community living with as much independence as possible. In addition, as an integral part of Virginia's system of mental health care to people who have a hearing loss, the MHCD also provides consultations and outpatient evaluations to a variety of public and private agencies serving individuals, families, and groups. Telemedicine links are available on a case-by case basis.
The MHCD seeks to provide mental health services with an awareness of the social and cultural aspects of growing up with a sensory hearing loss. We recognize the right of individuals to receive services in a language they can comfortably understand. For many people with hearing loss, this language is English. For other people who are deaf, that language is American Sign Language (ASL).For individuals whose formal language skills are not well developed, we seek to find ways to encourage communication in non-verbal modalities, such as gesture and drawing.
The MHCD strives to create possibilities for deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, and deafblind patients to participate meaningfully in decisions about their treatment here at Western State Hospital, in their communities, and in their families. We strive to help each patient grow and develop as much as possible, recognizing each person's strengths and limitations to living independently.
Services Offered:
We provide diagnosis, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation, for psychiatric and chemical dependency problems. In addition, we provide forensic and psychiatric evaluations, both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Our services are available to community service boards, group homes, private individuals, prisons, jails and courts and other facilities that may require specialized assessments.
Our treatment modalities include: individual, group and family therapies; medications; behavioral and milieu therapies. Rehabilitation focuses on the vocational, social, language, educational, recreational and psychiatric needs of the patients.
Back to menu
- Start of Page
- · Start of Content
- · Links & Resources
- . Site Map
- · Site Help
- · Web Privacy Policy
- · RSS Feed
- · Web site Survey
For Comments or Questions Concerning this Web Site, contact the DMHMRSAS Web Administrator
© Department of Mental Health Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, Commonwealth of Virginia
