ACTIVITY FEATURE and mumbling to each other . That is how it feels to a deaf person or a hearing BSL user trying to communicate through a mask .
Adapting for mental health Within the group we had a mixture of different diagnoses , including psychosis , mood disorder , personality disorder , dementia and autism . We also had a range of ages , from 18 to 90 . This presented different challenges , mostly with service users experiencing processing skill difficulties , memory and motivation . The group aimed to support those with difficulties and was open to any level of art experience from novice to competent . This means many of the group members needed one-to-one support to be able to engage . This included prompting , explaining the task in a different way , encouragement and support to concentrate .
It was also a good opportunity for assessment and observations from this group were often part of my Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool assessments or feedback in multidisciplinary team meetings .
The activities Most of the workshop activities were accessible for our deaf service users . This included marbling , pattern design , still life painting of a dog , still life portraiture , painting a seascape , collage , making our own paint with egg , mono printing and zine making .
One session was painting to music . Hospital Rooms thought about this and sent us some aromatherapy blends , so we could paint to scents . Some of our deaf service users could hear some of the music and base notes , so used both the scents and sound for an increased sensory experience .
Hospital Rooms often provided us with some free materials , which was invaluable to an NHS mental health ward on a budget .
Often other staff were involved , including healthcare assistants and students . Healthcare assistants helped encourage service users to attend , or joined to help those who needed more support , such as those people with dementia or cognitive problems .
It was also important to let the team know what we were doing to avoid the room being double booked or being interrupted .
We had many occupational therapy students visit to observe . It can often feel a bit of a shock for students who have never been in a deaf environment to experience not being able to communicate with service users . But it was a useful experience for the hearing individual to support their understanding of the communication struggles a deaf person will endure on a daily basis .
Many deaf and hard of hearing people do not get admitted to a specialist service like Bluebell and will be on hearing acute wards . Occupational therapists and other staff on those wards must be aware that it is a deaf service user ’ s right in law to have access to a qualified and registered BSL interpreter .
Therefore , if any sessions are run on wards where a deaf person is present , it is essential to meet with that person on admission to understand their communication and cultural needs .
Thought should then be put into all areas of the planning , setting up and running of the group activity . Focus should also be on providing access to the group activity , but also for the deaf service user to interact with other people in the group to promote social inclusion and also deaf awareness for the other hearing service users .
Hospital Rooms has been vital throughout lockdown for staff and service users on the ward . Both Paz and I have learnt new art skills and it helped us provide a more interesting and dynamic activity .
One service user commented about Hospital Rooms : ‘ You make psychiatric wards a better place to be in .’ Going forward , we will continue to join the sessions each week . Bluebell Ward is extremely grateful to Hospital Rooms and the support they have given during lockdown .
Reference
Shinton E and Mairs H ( 2009 ). Working in mental health and deafness . British Journal of Occupational Therapy , 72 ( 4 ): 180-182 . https :// doi . org / 10.1177 / 030802260907200409
Hannah Spreadbury-Troy , occupational therapist , and Paz Jordan , activity co-ordinator , Deaf services – Bluebell Ward , Springfield University Hospital . With thanks to Barry Allen-Davies , BSL interpreter . For more about Hospital Rooms visit : www . hospital-rooms . com
Final reflections It was felt by the authors that considerable thought needed to be put into including a deaf person with mental health problems in an art group . Complexities such as language , mental illness and the barriers that go alongside being deaf in a hearing world present a challenge for occupational therapists to create access .
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