Psychiatric Care of Deaf Patients in the General Hospital: An Overview

Background: While the number of Deaf and hard-of-hearing patients worldwide is estimated at six hundred million, few specialized psychiatric services or training resources exist to support the provision of mental health care to this population. This presents a particularly acute problem in the general hospital, where the consultant psychiatrist is likely to be confronted with the challenges of providing comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis and treatment to patients with whom he or she may have limited experience or confidence. Method: We review critical considerations in the work-up, differential diagnosis, and management of commonly-presenting psychiatric disorders among Deaf patients in the general hospital setting.