Cloud Counselling

09/11/2026

So strange, as a Deaf person, why didn’t I come up with this analogy? Love it!!

12/10/2026

Exploring Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's) in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Deaf/HH) People

Some childhood adversities experienced by Deaf/HH people may remain invisible in routine assessments, yet have a lasting impact on emotional wellbeing, identity, relationships and mental health.

I’ve developed 13 additional questions to supplement the original ACEs questionnaire, helping clinicians consider Deaf-specific experiences of adversity, including communication neglect, language deprivation and forced dependence.

Greater awareness of Deaf-specific adversity, I believe, is essential to developing culturally responsive, language accessible, and trauma informed mental health practice. This resource contributes to ongoing professional discussion and highlights the need for further research into childhood adversity and trauma among Deaf and Hard of Hearing populations.

My questions to clinicians:

1. When working therapeutically with Deaf/HH clients, how do we ensure that our understanding of childhood adversity extends beyond what is immediately visible or routinely measured?

2. How can we better equip mental health practitioners to explore childhood adversity in ways that recognise the linguistic, cultural and lived experiences of Deaf/HH children, both now and as they grow into adulthood?

I hope this resource encourages reflection and strengthens trauma informed practice with Deaf/HH clients.

I welcome discussion from clinicians, researchers, educators and Deaf/HH community members.

FREE PDF Download of supplementary ACE's Questions here.
https://www.cloudcounselling.com.au/store/adapted-aces-questionnaire-for-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-clients

22/09/2026

A little reflection for National Week of Deaf People

For a long time, I accepted captions as “good enough”, because often, that was what was offered.

But I’m questioning that more now.

Captions can be valuable.
But captions ≠ Auslan access.

I still find myself following up about accessibility, chasing responses, or being given so little notice that I can’t realistically organise an interpreter myself.

That extra work?
"Deaf tax.”

And when this happens at conferences or professional development specifically about "accessibility and inclusion", it makes me stop and think.

Maybe the question shouldn’t just be:

“Did we provide captions?”

Maybe it should be:

“Could this person genuinely participate?”

Because access isn’t simply about providing "something".

It’s about being able to "participate, connect, learn and contribute."

And perhaps that’s the reflection I’m taking with me beyond National Week of Deaf People.

21/09/2026

Access to Auslan is so important in my work. PD, conferences supervision and so much more… and in my private life too. Thanks Just Auslan for your post.

15/09/2026

A new chapter for Between Two Worlds.

My e-book, Between Two Worlds: A Cross Cultural Therapy Guide – Working with Deaf & Hard of Hearing Clients, has now been approved by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) as an OPD professional development course.

But this isn't simply a Deaf awareness book.
It asks a bigger clinical question:
What happens when we adapt the therapy, rather than expecting the Deaf client to adapt to the therapy?

Access to Auslan maybe essential, via an interpreter or directly with the therapist, but an interpreter/language alone does not automatically make therapy accessible.
Therapeutic language, questioning, clinical assumptions, emotional communication, formulation and the application of evidence based therapies may also need to be adapted.

That is what Between Two Worlds explores.
A Deaf-led, practical clinical guide designed to help mental health professionals move beyond simply providing communication access and towards genuinely more Deaf accessible therapeutic practice.

For ACA members: the OPD version will be available through the ACA platform.
https://theaca.pointsbuild.com.au/theaca/6623-working-with-deaf-hard-of-hearing-clients-a-cross-cultural-therapy-guide-between-two-worlds

For others: You can download the ebook directly from my website for your own professional development (please note: the official OPD certificate is only issued upon completing the formal assessment course with ACA).
https://www.cloudcounselling.com.au/store//between-two-worlds-deaf-therapy-guide
I’m excited about what comes next, particularly the opportunity to bring this work into universities, professional education, mental health organisations and clinical training across Australia.

The book was written to change practice. Now I want to help take that practice further.

28/07/2026

Such an incredible book to read on Deaf Culture. Should be a text book for Deaf Studies. Such an achievement.

A campaigner who has spent 50 years raising awareness of Deaf culture and fighting for the recognition of British Sign Language has received an honorary degree from the University of Reading.

22/07/2026

This is why access to Deaf affirming Mental Health care is so important. This is unfortunately not uncommon, one of the many issues we deal with in counselling therapy. This runs so deep!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DS4EwzoRC/?mibextid=wwXIfr

11/07/2026

After working in the educational system, this I found to be very true. We still don’t have access to Deaf affirming therapy at schools to support these kids. The system is powerful, and the natural resilience of these kids is being broken down every day.

16/06/2026

Deaf mental health research shows, not being understood and feeling part of the family growing up, causes mental health issues. It’s a shame

No need to imagine this. It IS reality.

We are glad hearing parents want to understand their children by asking for interpreters, but it is a catastrophic failure of our educational and medical systems that created these types of parent-child relationships. ASL is every Deaf child’s birthright – and their hearing parents’ right as well. They should be able to sign and understand each other outside sessions without interpreters.

How heartbreaking is it that in 2024, most Deaf children with hearing parents continue to almost always carry the burden of having to lipread or guess what their parents are saying…because their hearing parents never learned ASL?

Sadly, the parent-child relationship is impacted when there is no common language to nurture it. This doesn’t need to happen.

Communication is THE bedrock of any relationship, none more critical and life-shaping than parent-child relationships.

By nature, even when there is a shared language, parent-child relationships are already complicated enough. They require patience, hard work, commitment to understanding, validating each other, and growing together.

Take away a shared language between parents and children and what is left of the relationship?

Interpreters in therapy sessions can support the healing process between Deaf children and hearing parents. Most of the work, however, needs to happen outside of sessions, in real life. It is NEVER too late for hearing parents to start learning ASL.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR COUNSELING AND THERAPY SERVICES: https://www.deafcounseling.com

Est. 2001. Deaf Women Owned. Over 25 years in business. 35+ years of Experience. Deaf Counseling Center provides both online (videophone, web-based, online, and virtual, e-therapy, telemental health) and in-office therapy to Deaf clients on a national basis.

08/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18qRvTviZy/?mibextid=wwXIfr