• About this study
• Our findings
• Our study details

Evaluation of the Lothian Deaf Counselling Service

About this study

The Lothian Deaf Counselling Service (LDCS) is a pilot project funded by the Scottish Government and NHS Lothian. It offers counselling using British Sign Language or English to people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or deafblind living in the Lothian area.

The pilot aims to improve the mental health of its users and demonstrate the possible benefits for this type of service in other Health Board areas.

The evaluation examined how well the pilot service met its aims - and assessed the potential for roll out in other areas. Overall, users said LDCS was vastly superior to other counselling services. You can read the findings here.

More about the LDCS
Compared with mainstream counselling services, LDCS counsellors are experienced in issues affecting deaf people - and one is highly skilled in the use of British Sign Language (BSL).

This means counsellors can see clients with who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing without an interpreter.

Potential policy impact

Users of the LDCS pilot reported improved mental health. This could demonstrate the benefits of this type of service in other Health Board areas.

Timeline

Methods

The study involved:

• analysing monitoring data and evaluation forms collated by LDCS staff,
• in-depth interviews with key stakeholders (such as commissioners and project staff),
• initial and follow-up interviews with service users and their 'significant others', and
• face-to-face and telephone interviews with professional referrers.

You can:

Of interest: