Presenters
The following presenters have so far been confirmed, and appear
below in alphabetical order. More information, and presenters biographies,
will be added to this page in due course.
Brian Berlinski (USA)
Brian is an art therapist at DeafHope (www.deaf-hope.org),
a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the empowerment of Deaf survivors
of domestic violence and sexual assault. He conducts weekly art
therapy group sessions with deaf and hearing children who have been
exposed to domestic violence. In addition, he is certified by the
state of California, in the United States, to provide advocacy services
for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Brian moderates
an international online listserv comprised of over 40 members who
are interested in the practice of art therapy by deaf professionals
and the use of art therapy with deaf clients. He serves as Board
Secretary of Deaf Communities Together, a nonprofit organization
that provides support services to marginalised groups within the
deaf and hard of hearing community. Brian received a Bachelor of
Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science
in Art Therapy from Nazareth College.
Ged Davies (UK)
Ged is a CAMHS community Nurse at York Deaf Child and Family Service.
He works with Sara Rhys Jones and Sophie Roberts as part of multidisciplinary
teams to provide specialist CAMHS services to deaf children, undertaking
consultations, assessments, and appropriate interventions to these
young people and their families.
Lara Denman (AUS)
Lara is currently employed as a Project Officer by the Queensland
Transcultural Mental Health Centre, a state-wide service based in
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
At this time she is working on a research project looking at the
mental health care needs of Deaf and hearing impaired people form
an Indigenous Australian or culturally and linguistically diverse
background.
She began her research in deafness and mental health in 2003. Some
of the highlights in her career, in this area, include: piloting
the use of video conference technology to enable Deaf people in
Australia's rural and remote areas to gain access to a wide range
of appropriate health care and the establishment of Australia's
only operational deafness and Mental Health Centre of Excellence.
Lynne
Hawcroft
Lynne is a freelance consultant and a registered BSL/English interpreter working with services for deaf people across the UK. Formerly a social worker, she managed deaf services in both the statutory and voluntary (not for profit) sectors. Lynne has been self-employed for 14 years. Being freelance, she is able to bring an independent perspective to her work and she has advised central governments, worked with more than 25 local authorities and many voluntary organisations in reviewing their services and doing qualitative research with deaf groups. In recent years Lynne has collaborated with a number of organisations involved in mental health and deafness.
Dr. Sara Rhys Jones (UK)
Sara is a clinical Psychologist who works at Corner House Deaf
Child and Family Service. She works with Ged Davies and Sophie Roberts
as part of multidisciplinary teams to provide specialist CAMHS services
to deaf children, undertaking consultations, assessments, and appropriate
interventions to these young people and their families.
Ben Karlin (USA)
Ben began working as a community interpreter in 1987, focusing on
educational and workplace settings. From 1997-2006 he worked at St.
Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, a forensic mental health
facility of the Missouri Department of Mental Health. In that role
he trained and mentored numerous interpreters as they prepared to
work in mental health settings. He is licensed by the State of Missouri
and holds comprehensive state certification. He is currently at Sorenson
Video Relay Service.
Ben co-authored a paper presented at the first Supporting Deaf
People online conference, and, among other venues, at the First
and Second World Conferences on Mental Health and Deafness. His
current research is in analysis of the quality of interaction between
Deaf patients with interpreters and hearing patients in group therapy.
Dr. Erez Miller (Israel)
Erez is a lecturer in the special education dept. at the Achva College
of Education, located in the southern-central part of Israel. He
also works as a school psychologist in a private clinic in Ashdod.
His areas of expertise are in working with Deaf and hard of hearing
students as well as students with AD(H)D and their families.
Dr. Brendan Monteiro (UK)
Dr Brendan T Monteiro is a Consultant Psychiatrist in the field
of Mental Health and Deafness since 1987. He has a special interest
in Forensic Aspects of Mental Health and Deafness and has been instrumental
in setting up and directing Forensic Services for Deaf People in
the United Kingdom.
Brendon has published extensively in the field of Mental Health
and Deafness including at least 5 Peer Reviewed articles, contribution
of a chapter on deafness and communication in a book "Neurological
Boundaries of Reality" Farrand Press 1994.
He has been a past Council Member of the British Society of Mental
Health and Deafness (BSMHD) and the European of Society of Mental
Health and Deafness. He has lectured extensively on topics related
to Mental Health and Deafness in the UK, Europe, USA, South Africa,
Japan and Australia. He also chaired the 4th of the European Society
on Mental Health and Deafness. He was co-chair of the 1st world
congress on Mental Health and Deafness at Gallaudet University,
Washington, USA. He was presented with a "pioneering award"
with citation;
"Whose Ground Breaking work in the Advancement of Mental
Health practice in the Deaf Community has paved the way for all
who come after".
Brendan is now Medical Director at St George Healthcare Group providing
Forensic Rehabilitation Services for Deaf people and for people
with Brain Injury.
Dr. Robert Pollard (USA)
Robert is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology) at the
University of Rochester School of Medicine. There, he heads the
Deaf Wellness Center, home of numerous initiatives pertaining to
mental health, healthcare, sign language interpreting and professional
education opportunities for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
His "Program for Deaf Trainees" has received national
acclaim. For this and other accomplishments, the American Psychological
Association (APA) honored him with their 1994 early career award
for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest.
Robert writes and lectures widely on variety of topics in the deafness
field. He has been principal investigator on over 30 federal, foundation,
regional, and local grants and has published over 50 articles and
book chapters. Robert's scholarship interests include psychopathology,
psychological testing, sign language interpreting, and healthcare
in the deaf population. He is active in several national organizations,
especially the APA, where he founded a Special Interest Section
on Deafness and has served on several disability and public interest-related
boards and committees.
Dr. Sophie Roberts (UK)
Dr. Sophie Roberts is a Consultant Child Psychiatrist at York Deaf
Child and Family Service. She works with Ged Davies and Sara Rhys
Jones as part of multidisciplinary teams to provide specialist CAMHS
services to deaf children, undertaking consultations, assessments,
and appropriate interventions to these young people and their families.
Naomi
Sharples (UK)
Naomi Sharples qualified as a nurse for people with learning difficulties
in 1989. In 1993 Naomi qualified as a Mental Health Nurse and went
to work at the National Centre for Mental Health and Deafness in
Salford. During this time she studied for a degree in linguistics
and deaf studies at the University of Central Lancashire and following
a growing interest in leadership, management and diversity went
on to study for her MBA.
The deaf peoples access to nurse education project has been apart
of Naomi's working life for the past 6 years. She now works for
the University of Salford as a senior lecturer, Professional Lead
for Mental Health Nursing and personal tutor to deaf and hearing
student nurses.
In 2000 Naomi was awarded a Commendation in the Nursing Standard
Awards Mental Health category for her work in this area. The work
has also been commended by the European Society for Mental health
and Deafness to the World Health Organisation.
Naomi is currently studying for her Professional Doctorate focusing
on Empowerment through education.
Elaine
Welch
Elaine is the Community Health Services Manager with Deaf Connections
(whose mission is to enable Deaf people to achieve a high quality
of life within the community). She has worked with Deaf Connections
for three years to manage and develop the following services: Healthy
Living Centre, Scotland Cancer Awareness Project and Heart Health
Programme. Previously, she worked with the Glasgow Healthy City
Partnership (a member of the World Health Organisation) for 10 years
on community development and health, especially focussing on disability
issues.
Joanna
Wootten
Joanna Wootten was appointed Deputy Chief Executive for Sign, the National Society for Mental Health and Deafness in June 2006, and is currently Acting CEO, and should revert to her previous role as Deputy in February 2007. Prior to working for Sign, she worked for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. At the start of her career, she qualified and worked as a solicitor. She is a trustee of STAGETEXT. Joanna was born deaf.
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