Working with Interpreters in Social Work Practice

Abstract

Attention is drawn to an area of social work practice that has so far been neglected in the professional literature: the use of interpreters in social work interviews.

Drawing from the experience of one of the writers, who worked with interpreters in assisting non-English-speaking clients over a period of two and a half years, a number of common interactional patterns are identified. These are described in the context of a simple model and through the use of case examples. The patterns should not be seen as exhaustive or mutually exclusive, but rather as tentative insight-stimulating formulations.