The Office of Deaf Services is pleased to announce that Frances
Ralston, Ph.D., of Birmingham, AL, has accepted appointment to direct
the Bailey Deaf Unit at the Greil Psychiatric Hospital in
Montgomery. She will begin her duties on Monday, 29 November.
Dr. Ralston, who earned her clinical psychology degree from Gallaudet
University, has been in private practice in Birmingham for several
years. She has been instrumental in helping Alabama develop
culturally and linguistically appropriate services for people who are
deaf. She chaired the Alabama Association of the Deaf Mental Health
Task Force for several years and provided critical guidance to the
state in the design phase of the Bailey settlement.

Her areas of clinical expertise include identification and treatment
of dyslexia and Attention Deficient Disorder. She is knowledgeable
in the use of Dialectic Behavior Therapy with people who are deaf.

Dr. Ralston is looking forward to developing a unit that responds to
Deaf cultural norms. She explained in an interview that a "deaf unit"
has a different feel from a unit where deaf people are integrated
with hearing consumers. The pacing and focus of treatment are
different. Most importantly, she said, "The staff all need to sign
all the time," in order for communication to be fully
accessible. "Most of our consumers have serious language problems
and we will need to address that in order for treatment to be
successful," she added.

Dr. Ralston's first task will be to begin recruitment of key staff
needed to make the unit viable. In particular, there is a great need
for direct care staff who are either deaf themselves or sign
fluently, as well as several critical clinical staff. Please watch
for announcements as positions come open.