Five Tips for People with Vision Loss from Lighthouse Guild Social Workers

March is National Social Work Month

Social workers are essential in helping people with vision loss manage challenges. From addressing urgent and chronic life issues, to making sure people can get to their appointments, get their medications and access needed medical equipment, social workers are on hand to offer professional guidance and smooth the way. 

“When a person receives a diagnosis of vision loss, it can initially be devastating,” says Jocelyn Tapia, LCSW-R, Clinical Social Worker at Lighthouse Guild. “Social workers coordinate care, connect people with resources, and offer a listening ear. We are licensed to assess biological, psychological, and social situations, and make mental health diagnoses.” 

Lighthouse Guild social workers offer five tips to help individuals and their families cope with vision loss: 

• Education is crucial. Having an evaluation with an eye specialist and obtaining an understanding of your specific eye condition and any possible treatments is the first step. 

• Include your loved ones in important conversations. Familiarizing your loved ones with your eye condition is helpful. Loves ones can be present during eye appointments and help make necessary adjustments and accommodations at home to ensure safety.

• Seek mental health counseling. Vision loss involves an adjustment period where people may experience anxiety and depression. Counseling provides a safe space for an individual to process feelings, grieve their loss of independence and acquire coping mechanisms to adapt to their new normal. 

• Meet with a low vision specialist. Low vision services aim to maximize remaining vision. A low vision doctor can evaluate, prescribe, and recommend visual aids, adaptive devices, and orientation and mobility training all of which can contribute to an individual maintaining a certain amount of independence. 

• Consider joining a support group. Support groups offer individuals an opportunity to connect and relate to a larger community which often reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation. 

Social Work at Lighthouse Guild

At Lighthouse Guild, social workers serve in many different roles — from psychotherapists at the Behavioral Health Center, providing individual, couples, family and group therapy; to the Health Center, providing support groups helping patients to remove obstacles to accessing medical and vision care; to GuildCare, the Adult Day Health Care program, assessing and monitoring the bio-psycho-social needs of each client, throughout the day; to the Rehabilitation Department, providing emotional support and guidance to individuals seeking education and work, as they establish and pursue their goals. To further help in the cycle of care, many Lighthouse Guild program directors and administrators are also social workers.

Lighthouse Guild
Lighthouse Guild provides exceptional services that inspire people who are visually impaired to attain their goals. Our podcast series, “On Tech & Vision with Dr. Cal Roberts” offers information and insights about technological innovations that are tearing down barriers for people who are blind or visually impaired. For more information, visit Lighthouseguild.org.