Deaf People and Mental Health Online Conference
 
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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
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
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.

 


Laura Denman
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 HawcroftLynne 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.

 

Sara Rhys Jones
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
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
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

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

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.

 

Sophie Roberts
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 SharplesNaomi 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 WelchElaine 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 WoottenJoanna 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.