Interpreting in mental health, roles and dynamics in practice

Abstract

In mental health, communication is the sine qua non, not only for considering a diagnosis, but also for developing a treatment plan. Words, on the one hand, and the relationship between the clinician and the service user, on the other, are two of the main components of mental health and therapeutic treatment. The presence of an interpreter has the potential to have an effect on the dynamics of the mental health or therapeutic encounter. This may pose a series of challenges and opportunities for all three members of the triad. This paper reports on a study conducted with interpreters working with recent migrants, mainly refugees and asylum seekers at two organisations based in the South of England. Two focus-groups with interpreters were conducted. Several differences between interpreting in mental health and interpreting in other settings were noted by the interpreters. Five overarching themes were identified in this study. These were: the role of the interpreter in the mental health encounter, the dynamics within the therapeutic triad, the interpreter-clinician relationship, power and alliances within the room and the personhood of the interpreter. The first two themes are presented within this paper, although the themes are not entirely discrete categorisations.

Keywords:

• interpreter
• mental health
• challenges and opportunities
• roles
• dynamics

Notes on Contributors

Elena Resera completed her BA in Translation and Interpretation at University of Trieste, Trieste (Italy), MA in Conference Interpreting at Faculty of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators (SSLMIT), University of Bologna at Forlí, Forlí (Italy). She studied 2 months at the University of Moscow (MGLU), Moscow (Russia), and 6 months at the University of Leeds, Leeds (UK).

Professor Rachel Tribe has published widely in the areas of culture and mental health and has worked in a number of countries. She was the lead editor for the British Psychological Society's guidelines on Working with Interpreters in Health Settings, (a second edition of which are currently in preparation). She produced a DVD for the Department of Health on this topic in conjunction with Dr Pauline Lane (available on Youtube). She also co-edited a seminal book on Working with Interpreters in Mental Health in 2003. She has participated in a range of national and international panels on this topic and on mental health and migration. She was awarded the BPS award for challenging social inequalities in 2013. She is currently employed in the School of Psychology, University of East London.

Dr Pauline Lane is trained as a sociologist and works as a Reader in Mental Health at Anglia Ruskin University. She is an experienced social researcher working in national and international setting and she has an expertise in the health of marginalized and excluded communities.

Notes

1. The description of focus groups provided here is based on the six-volume kit (Morgan and Krueger, 1998).

2. The general term ‘clinician’ is used to include therapists, psychologists and counsellors. Research participants on occasions use the term advisor and counsellor and these have not been changed. The term service user is used rather than patient or client as this is viewed as more respectful and is in line with the current convention in the UK.