Working as a Team: Therapy with Interpreters

Abstract

Though many monolingual therapists might balk at the idea of working in a second language, feeling perhaps inept or nervous at relying on a person 'outside' of the therapeutic relationship for communication, we seek to provide information and examples that will help monolingual practitioners expand conceptualization of therapy to make space for interpreters in sessions. Specific logistics, including scheduling, joining, pacing, and tricky situations, will be discussed. Emphasis is placed on understanding the interpreter as a member of the therapeutic relationship, opportunities provided by deconstruction of language and assumptions of meaning uniquely facilitated by working between languages, and the importance of cultural humility in locating therapeutic practices. Examples from group, individual, and family sessions will be provided, along with reflections from the monolingual therapist authors and an interpreter. A list of logistics and learnings to consider will be provided at the end of the chapter. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)