Bilingual and Multilingual Psychologists Practising in Australia: An Exploratory Study of Their Skills, Training Needs and Experiences

Abstract

Objective

As Australia becomes more diverse it is essential for the psychology profession to examine training, cultural competency, and professional development needs of psychologists working in languages other than English. In this exploratory study of bilingual/multilingual psychologists in Australia, we aimed to investigate their self‐perceived language skills, multicultural counselling competency, and professional development needs; understand their training and practice experiences; and seek recommendations for policy and practice.

Method

An online survey including demographic and practice information, the Multicultural Counselling Inventory and open‐ended text questions was completed by 38 bilingual/multilingual psychologists working in Australia in 2015. Eleven participants undertook supplementary telephone interviews which along with survey responses were transcribed for qualitative thematic analysis.

Results

Most participants trained in English. They expressed concerns about their application of psychological concepts in other languages, despite good conversational fluency. Participants highlighted language barriers to entering the profession; limited multicultural and multilingual training and supervision in Australia; and the need for more transcultural mental health resources, particularly for small/new migrant communities and people outside large cities.

Conclusion

To effectively serve clients, significant changes are required to psychology training in Australia, including but not limited to bilingual and multilingual psychologists. These include enhanced training and competency standards in MCC and using interpreters. The profession must actively support supervision, professional development, and practice in community languages. The Psychology Board of Australia and the universities need to examine policies operating as barriers to the admission of culturally and linguistically diverse people to the psychology profession in Australia.

Key words:

• CALD
• cultural competence
• mental health
• multicultural counselling
• multilingualism