A Phenomenological Study on the Psychological Experiences by the Deaf

The purpose of this study is to explore the types of experiences the deaf have through psychological counseling from a phenomenological perspective to solve psychological problems to achieve a better understanding of the essence of those experiences. To achieve this research purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with six deaf people who had received at least 10 psychological counseling sessions at a deaf welfare institution and analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological research 5-step analysis method. In this study, the essential meaning of psychological counseling experienced by the deaf is that the hearing impaired perceive the differences and conflicts they experience as a minority in society as natural. This suggests a new perspective on problems while experiencing the decisive moment between the counselor, oneself, and third-party assistants who form a triangular alliance with an open mind that is not held back by communication barriers and prejudices. Psychological counseling for the deaf is a place where they can practice, and through small changes in counseling, they decide between two options at the end of counseling. This study found commonalities in the concrete and actual experiences of deaf people through psychological counseling at a psychological counseling site for deaf, which lacks study data. Therefore, it is expected that the results of this study can be used as data that can assist deaf clients with deaf psychological counseling.