Psychotherapy across languages: beliefs, attitudes and practices of monolingual and multilingual therapists with their multilingual patients

Abstract

Aims: The present study investigates beliefs, attitudes and practices of 101 monolingual and multilingual therapists in their interactions with multilingual patients. Method: A mixed-method approach was adopted using an online questionnaire with closed questions, and informed questions in interviews with one monolingual and two multilingual therapists. Results: A principal component analysis yielded a four-factor solution accounting for 41% of the variance. The first dimension, which explained 17% of variance, reflects therapists' attunement towards their bilingual patients (attunement versus collusion). Further analysis showed that the 18 monolingual therapists differed significantly from their 83 bi- or multilingual peers on this dimension. The follow-up interviews confirmed this result. Discussion: Recommendations based on these findings are made for psychotherapy training and supervision.

Keywords:

• monolingual
• multilingual
• mixed methods
• attunement
• emotion
• language

Acknowledgements

Our thanks to Professor Rachel Tribe and Dr Joan Painter for their advice and input on the questionnaire design and ethical issues. Thank you also to Dr Malcolm Edwards for sharing ideas and experience and to Ruxandra Comanaru for her administration of the questionnaire. Finally, we would like to acknowledge our appreciation of the participants for sharing their thinking with us.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beverley Costa

Biographies

Beverley Costa is a Psychotherapist and the Founder and Director of Mothertongue multi-ethnic counselling service, which offers culturally and linguistically sensitive counselling to people from black and minority ethnic communities.

Jean-Marc Dewaele

Jean-Marc Dewaele is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism. His research focuses on individual differences. He is the former President of the European Second Language Association and he is General Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.