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Inclusive Mental Health Symposium Preview: The Basics of Blindness and Low Vision, Presented by Sarah Clark, LMHC, LMFT, LPC
Nutley Family Service Bureau (NFSB) will host our first “Inclusive Mental Health Symposium: Enhancing Provider Understanding of Mental Health for Persons with Disabilities,” a virtual event, on Thursday, April 24 from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm.” The event is funded by the New Jersey Division of Disability Services through the Inclusive Healthy Communities initiative. This article is part of a series of previews of symposium presentations.
When Sarah Clark, LMHC, LMFT, LPC was a young adult, she was diagnosed with a visual impairment that was going to be progressive. In other words, she was told that she would eventually lose her vision. Unfortunately, support was not easy to find.
“I could not find a single provider who knew anything about it,” Sarah said. “When I went to therapy to help me get through the diagnosis and adjustment, they would just kind of nod and say, ‘That must be hard.’ Then they’d switch to family problems I might be having. They weren’t comfortable talking about my vision loss and didn’t know what to say. I knew I wanted to eventually become the resource that I didn’t have.”
When Sarah started her master’s program for mental health counseling while adjusting to her own vision loss, she chose rehabilitation counseling as a specialization. She felt that there weren’t enough providers who have the training and confidence to treat people with blindness and low vision. Sarah wanted to change that.
After seeing repeated requests for therapy specific to disabilities while working at a general counseling practice, Sarah founded the Disability Counseling Institute. She serves as the primary therapist for the practice, offering disability adjustment counseling as well as general counseling. Sarah also provides training on disability-related topics such as disability awareness, inclusion, and ADA compliance.
About the Presentation
Sarah will discuss basic concepts related to blindness and low vision, including appropriate etiquette, terminology, and effective strategies for inclusive interactions. These foundational concepts will help professionals who treat people with mental health disorders and other disabilities become allies to the blind and low vision community.
“Almost every person who has not spent a significant amount of time with people who are blind and low vision has some kind of incorrect stereotype or belief about what it’s like, what’s appropriate, what to say, or what not to say,” Sarah said. “Those biases will come out during a session if the therapist does not address them proactively. Knowledge of these basic concepts, as well as the accessibility aspect, is crucial to making someone who’s visually impaired feel welcome and able to participate in therapy.”
For example, there are standard interventions that are not only inaccessible for people who are blind or low vision, but also inappropriate. If a therapist validates a belief about blindness or low vision that’s incorrect, the therapist can create a lasting impression that they also believe those negative beliefs that aren’t true.
“When there’s a lack of understanding about how people function – simple activities like walking down a sidewalk or going to a grocery store – people might say or do things that are problematic, intrusive, and even hurtful,” Sarah said. “The more people understand what blindness means and what it’s like to live with blindness or low vision, the easier it will be for people with these disabilities to navigate the world. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring more awareness and support to this community of professionals.”
To learn more about symposium presentations, download the symposium schedule, and purchase tickets, visit the Inclusive Mental Health Symposium page on the NFSB website.
