In a message dated 10/10/2012 12:24:41 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, a psychotherapist writes:
Hi Dr. Bill,
I am a psychotherapist who took ASL for several years ... and now find myself in the position of working with a Deaf couple, with no interpreter. Obviously this is not an ideal situation, but lack of finances and such make it the best we can do right now...
One concept I have not been able to find a sign for is the idea of "coping with" or "dealing with" an emotion or problem. We therapists talk a lot about coping skills, but I'm not sure how to sign about them! Any ideas? I'd love to be able to ask something like "You got really angry - and then how did you cope with that?"
Thanks for any thoughts you might have...
- Jessica E____
Dear Jessica,
Hello :)
The ways to interpret "cope" or "deal with" are generally as follows:
1. PATIENCE: Use the sign for "patience." You could sign. YOU PATIENCE THAT HOW?
2. CONTROL: The sign for "control" has many meanings, including: "manage, administer, reign, and handle." The sign for "control" could be used in many situations similar to the English phrase, "How did you handle that?" You could sign, "YOU CONTROL THAT HOW?"3. what-DO: The "what-DO" sign can be combined with the YOU sign to mean, "What did you do?"
- Cordially,
Dr. Bill
You can learn American Sign Language (ASL) online at American Sign Language University ™
ASL resources by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars
Want to help support
ASL University? It's easy:
DONATE (Thanks!)
(You don't need a PayPal account. Just look for the credit card logos and click continue).
For a list of various ways to donate see:
https://www.Lifeprint.com/donate
Another way to help is to buy something from the ASLU "Bookstore."
A must see!:
ASL University's YouTube playlist ►
Latest ASLU YouTube upload:
