[humanser] Letting them know you're blind

[Mary Ann Robinson]

I agree with Karen.

If clients raise an issue related to blindness, address it appropriately at 
that time.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Karen Rose via HumanSer


Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2018 12:29 AM
To: Human Services Division Mailing List
Cc: Karen Rose
Subject: Re: [humanser] Letting them know you're blind

I certainly agree that being forced to disclose to a new client that I am 
blind before seeing that client is exactly equivalent to being forced to 
disclose my race or ethnic city or religion or orientation. This is simply 
not necessary. If a client is in fact uncomfortable when they see that I am 
blind, this could actually prove useful in therapy. Although I do not do 
this now, as an intern I would generally wait until the end of the second or 
third session and then ask a client how they felt about working with someone 
who was not looking at them. I remember having one client respond – you must 
really have to trust people a lot. And – this was the subject of therapy for 
the next year!

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 1, 2018, at 3:40 PM, Cheryl Wade via HumanSer <humanser at nfbnet.org> 
> wrote:
>
> Greetings, listers,
>
>
> Have any of you pondered the idea of letting new clients know that you, as 
> a therapist, are blind?
>
>
> In a former job, I used to ask if the person were allergic to or disliked 
> dogs, and then mention I have a guide dog and am blind. I have not used 
> this technique in my new job. I have lost a couple of clients, for reasons 
> I'm not sure about, and my supervisor wonders if  I should make the fact 
> of my blindness known to clients before I meet with them. Perhaps they are 
> uncomfortable? If I do let them know, what might be some good ways to go 
> about doing that?
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> Cheryl Wade, MA, LLPC, CRC
>
>
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