THE DEAF PUBLIC EXCLUDED FROM PSYCHOTHERAPY: A MISTAKE BETWEEN THE ETHICAL-POLITICAL COMMITMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY IN THERAPEUTIC SETTING

Abstract

The purpose of psychology is to promote care and, with it, improvements in the mental health of individuals and groups. In both cases, it is extremely important to consider the subjective and particular aspects that surround and add value to each person's relationship with the environment in which they live, as well as the groups that reinforce their identity. With this in mind, this paper will consider the issue of communication and attitudinal barriers that exclude deaf people from psychotherapy, with the aim of investigating what makes it difficult to care for deaf people, as well as the ethical-political commitment of psychology to such people and the contexts that this commitment covers. The method used was a systematic bibliographic review, according to the model proposed by Levi and Ellis (2006). From the results, it can be concluded that the deaf public has not been welcomed into the therapeutic setting due to the psychologist's failure to use Libras as an effective form of communication that validates the deaf person's discourse, and the gap in the academic training of psychology professionals, since there is a concern to include the deaf community in educational contexts, but not to prepare professionals beyond their training. There was also a scarcity of information that could contribute to the topic, and it was necessary to compile it based on the thematic proximity of the articles found in the systematic bibliographic review. Through this search, it was possible to deepen an analysis and reflection on the difficulties described above, resulting in a qualitative synthesis from the inclusive clinical perspective of psychology. Aiming at the commitment and movement that inclusion makes is to re-evaluate the means, conduct and instruments that facilitate access and the well-being of the deaf. Therefore, psychologists are responsible for promoting equity, freedom and dignity, according to their code of ethics.