During the Counselling Training Project it became apparent that GPs were unaware of the needs of deaf and deafblind people when it came to counselling and that most mainstream services were inaccessible.

At the start of the project in 2008, Community Health Partnerships (CHP’s) in Scotland were contacted for their help and advice on how to best contact GPs.  Those who replied either sent information out on our behalf or provided a list of contacts.
GPs, mainstream counsellors and counselling organisations were then sent a questionnaire asking about their accessibility to deaf and deafblind people.  They were also asked if they would be interested in attending free Deaf and Deafblind Awareness Training sessions.

Since August 2009, ten training sessions have been held in Inverness, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Dumfries, Aberdeen, Perth, Kilmarnock, Hawick and Dunfermline.  The response to the sessions was overwhelming and the feedback very positive.  Sessions were opened up to other health professionals and social workers.
With the extra funding from The Big Lottery Fund we now aim to work with Jobcentre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Credit Unions and Debt Counselling services and offer advice and training to support them to make services more accessible.

The leaflet aimed at GPs has been updated and reprinted and is available to download as a pdf.

If you would like further information please contact Barbra Wylie on Tel/Text 0141 221 2991
Email: barbra@scod.org.uk