European Society for the Mental Health of Deaf people

21/02/2026

Within the special interest group on adults Tamie Wuytjens, a PhD student from Belgium, presented here research on the link between mental health and substance use among deaf people.

Alex Hamilton, Deborah Morris & Kevin Baker presented a Delphi study on International consensus on the impact, assessment, and treatment of Trauma in Deaf people.

21/02/2026

As a closure of the children and adolescent special interest group (SIG)
Laura Vaccari presented on the insights from parents and professionals in the Barriers to accessing deaf autism assessment.

And Sarah Powell gave a lecture on trauma presentations within deaf people in primary care mental health service in the UK.

20/02/2026

A beautiful interactive presentation with role play by Nils Sande & Lene Nilsen, which explores trauma-informed therapy within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Norway

19/02/2026

With over a hundred participants from all over the world, the real magic happens during the breaks: Sharing & exchanging experiences & knowledge.

So much for our online covering today, but stay tuned for more in the next two days!

19/02/2026

Nynke Dethmers, Christy de Klein & Stefanie Hop present the impact of their Psywel Mental Health Program, at Kentalis in the Netherlands. This programm provides early screening & diagnostics for mental health issues in DHH children.

Koninklijke Kentalis

19/02/2026

Victor Nathan & Yasmin Kovics presented a case study of a young person facing multi-layered trauma. Highlighting the role of a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach.

19/02/2026

Today’s theme is ‘Trauma in the Deaf Community’. We started of with the presentations in the Special Interest Group (SIG) children.

The kick off was by Millie & Harriet Rice.
They explained the audience how, in deafblind children, trauma often arises not from a single event. But from repeated experiences of disconnection, misattunement and unmet relational needs.

19/02/2026

We are very honored that Prof. Joseph Murray; president of the World Federation of Deaf (WFD), Helene Jarmer; president of the Austrian Deaf association and Humberto Insulata; representative of the European Dissability Foundation gave a great kick off of the day with their welcome speeches.

‘When full access is delayed or denied, the consequences are profound. Language deprivation contributes to isolation, trauma, educational barriers and longterm mental health problems. These are not individual failures, they are systemic failures.’

19/02/2026

Today we welcome speakers from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and United Kingdom.

So great to share research and best practice world wide!

Thank , so great to be a part of you’re event!

18/02/2026

Es fangt an!

More and more people arriving on the ground in Vienna for our ESMHD symposium tomorrow.
Welcome you all!

Follow us on BlueSky, LinkedIn or here for recent updates. And if you’re not on a plane (preferable train) or on the ground in Austria now, make sure you’re here next time!

https://esmhd.org/programme-vienna-2026

Health

The European Society for Mental Health and Deafness (ESMHD) cordially invites you to register for the upcoming International Meeting, taking place on Thursday 19 February at the United Nations Headquarters at Vienna, Austria. The meeting will be a truly unique experience, and feature researchers, pr...

16/01/2026

We are looking forward to welcome you all in Vienna in February! We have a great programme with many presenters from many countries lined up, all details on https://esmhd.org/programme-vienna-2026 and the rest of our website.
Please note that registration closes on 26-1-26

16/12/2025

The ESMHD is pleased to announce that registration for the International meeting in Vienna, February 19 2026, is now OPEN. Find out more on https://esmhd.org/information-vienna-2026