Jill Afrin (born 1962) is a psychiatrist who specializes in working with

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

populations in South Carolina, and is also credited as the first telepsychiatrist in the state.

Biography

Afrin was born in Suffern, New York in 1962. Jeanette Newman, her mother was a

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

er, public relation counselor, and a journalist while Edward Newman worked as a crime reporter who died when she was 4 years old. Afrin earned her undergraduate degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

from

State University of New York at Binghamton The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the State ...

in 1984. The same year Afrin enrolled into

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is a graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University located in Nashville, Tennessee. Located in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the southeastern side of the Vanderbilt University campus, the S ...

. After graduating with her medical degree, Dr. Afrin completed an internship and residency in psychiatry at the

Medical University of South Carolina The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is a public medical school in South Carolina. It opened in 1824 in Charleston as a small private college aimed at training physicians and has since established hospitals and medical facilities acr ...

. She was later awarded a fellowship in community and emergency psychiatry in 1992. Throughout college and medical training she learned sign language which she later on applied in her career. In 1989, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health began the Deaf Services Program to provide psychiatric help to the deaf and

hard of hearing Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken l ...

throughout the state. While case managers and clinical staff were fluent in sign-language, the non-signing psychiatrists had to rely on the clinical staff and the case managers in providing the help which took away from the crucial relationship needed to develop between the patient and psychiatrist due to having an interpreter. Ideally, they needed a psychiatrist who was also fluent in sign language.

Career

In 1992, Afrin started working with the Department of Mental Health's Deaf Services Program. Afrin's work primarily consisted of holding therapy sessions with deaf patients through the mid-1990s and initially, she was required to travel across the state to visit patients. This allowed her to see about 10 patients each week. In 1995, Afrin wanted to start a family, and could not continue to travel as she been doing. The Deaf Services Program was able to accommodate her needs and installed videoconferencing equipment in several hospitals and health centers in the state, and expanded the opportunities for Afrin to treat patients. This method of treating patients using telecommunication, called

telepsychiatry Telepsychiatry is the application of telemedicine to the specialty field of psychiatry. The term typically describes the delivery of psychiatric assessment and care through telecommunications technology, usually videoconferencing. Telepsychiatry se ...

, was therefore initiated through Afrin's efforts, making her the first telepsychiatrist in the state.

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afrin, Jill Living people 1962 births Binghamton University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Deafness People from Suffern, New York American women psychiatrists American psychiatrists