British Society for Mental Health and Deafness

What we do

The British Society for Mental Health and Deafness (BSMHD) is the society for the promotion of the positive mental health of deaf people in Britain.

Mental health includes healthy emotional, psychological and social development, the prevention and treatment of mental illness and other disorders. BSMHD focuses on those whose first or preferred language is sign language. Additionally BSMHD is interested in the mental health of all deaf people, whatever the age of onset or degree of deafness.

The main activities of the society are:

To promote the development of specialist mental health services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible for deaf people
to work with the UK Departments of Health and the NHS to promote policies leading to the development of accessible mental health services for deaf people
To support, develop and deliver training opportunities for professionals working in mental health and deafness
To co-ordinate regular open meetings held at venues across the country at which members are given access to examples of innovative developments
Regular eNewsletters providing information and promoting knowledge of the services available and of latest research in the field and supplemented by regular email updates
An Annual Conference showcasing examples of good practice from across the country
Regular specialist conferences and events
A website as a central point of information for all matters relating to mental health and deafness

Members of the Society are professionals and organisations whose work impacts on the mental health of deaf people. You can find out about how to join and the benefits of membership on the Members page.

2008/9 Review of the Year

2008/9 has been a year of considerable growth for the society with the expansion of existing activities and the development of new initiatives. Individual membership has again increased by 25% over the year and now stands at 135, reflecting the increasing number of professionals working in mental health and deafness. Organisation membership has also increased by 25% to 20, as more organisations engage in our activities. Expenditure has increased by 70% and Income has more than doubled to over £100,000, enabling us to achieve a surplus of £10,000 for the year, more than compensating for the £6,000 deficit recorded the previous year.

The 2008 Annual Conference, held in Edinburgh, was attended by 125 people, slightly down on previous years, but the new format of having the event over two days with a choice of presentations, workshops and seminars was very popular. In July 65 Interpreters attended the four day training event in Manchester delivered by Robyn Dean and Bob Pollard from Rochester, New York. In March the IAPT for Deaf People conference in Birmingham was attended by 95 people. Members meetings were held in Cardiff, Worthing and Liverpool. The Healthy Deaf Minds meetings continue to thrive in London and thanks to the funding received from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales we have been able to support the establishment of groups outside London. We have continued to support the development of the University of Birmingham Certificate in Mental Health and Deafness. In October 2008 we launched an additional website, www.bsltranslations.org.uk, to host information about a range of mental health topics in BSL.

Two major new developments for the society have dominated our agenda and will continue to do so in the medium term. The concept of a Certificate in Counselling Skills taught in BSL developed rapidly from its inception in February 2008, in partnership with Inter-Psyche and SignHealth. The course started in October 2008 with two cohorts of 12 students, one in Doncaster and one in Kent/Dorset. All of the course materials have been made available in BSL. The students are due to complete the course in June 2009 and will then be eligible to enrol on the two year BACP accredited Diploma in Integrative Counselling that will start in October 2009 in Nottingham. The students will have the added benefit of completing the IAPT Low Intensity theory curriculum during the first year of the course. Successful completion of the training will significantly increase the number of deaf professionals working in the mental health sector, contributing greatly to services becoming more accessible for deaf people. A connected piece of work has been our involvement in the national IAPT programme resulting in deaf people’s access to services being included in the Department of Health Commissioning IAPT for the Whole Community Good Practice Guidance (Nov 08)

During the year the Trustees took the decision that the continuing growth of the society meant that the provision of administrative services by UK Council on Deafness was no longer sustainable and from January 2009 the society has established its own independent administrative structure, managed by the General Secretary.

Outlook for 2009/10

The coming year will see the society continuing its rapid growth. Membership is expected to continue to increase at 25% per year and the trustees are budgeting for a 20% increase in Expenditure. This reflects the move into developing training opportunities, particularly the Diploma in Integrative Counselling taught in BSL. The 2009 Annual Conference will be held in London in June and will again be a two day event and two further specialist conferences will be held during the year. Members meetings will be held every three months and the Healthy Deaf Minds meetings will continue to be supported. During the year we will commence the planning for the 2010 European Mental Health and Deafness Congress that we are hosting. We will continue to work with the IAPT programmes to ensure that their services are accessible for deaf people. Ongoing policy work will include the development of Assessment Tools in BSL, supporting the development of the University of Birmingham Certificate in Mental Health and Deafness, the “Stop it Now! – For Deaf People” campaign, and influencing the National Dementia Strategy.

The Trustees of the Society are:

Sally Austen
Barbara Brown
Emma Ferguson-Coleman
Jim Cromwell
Mary Griggs
Willie Macfadyen
Steve Powell
Sara Rhys Jones

All correspondence should be sent to Jonathan Isaac, the General Secretary of the Society.

Constitution

Latest Annual Report: BSMHD Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2009

Previous Annual Reports are available on the Charity Commission Website

British Society for Mental Health and Deafness, Registered Charity Number 1057135

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