Using Interpreters in Health and Mental Health Settings
Course #61283 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
A collaborative relationship must be built between practitioners and interpreters. Practitioners require an understanding of what they can do to assist in the process, such as being aware of seating arrangements, orienting interpreters to the client and the cultural context, and holding debriefing sessions after the clinical encounter. Similarly, interpreters can have frank dialogues with practitioners about the interpreting process. Furthermore, this course will give practitioners a glimpse of the inside world of interpreters so they can appreciate the dynamics involved in interpreting and assist in building a relationship of mutual respect, collaboration, and an effective working environment with interpreters.
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINING LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY
- DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES
- LEGAL CONTEXT: LANGUAGE ACCESS
- AN OVERVIEW OF INTERPRETATION
- PERSPECTIVES OF INTERPRETING
- ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS OF INTERPRETER USE
- BARRIERS TO USING PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS
- OVERVIEW OF CHALLENGES AND UNIQUE DYNAMICS INVOLVED IN USING INTERPRETERS
- BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR PRACTITIONERS WORKING WITH INTERPRETERS
- TRAINING PRACTITIONERS AND INTERPRETERS
- ETHICAL ISSUES
- RESOURCES
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
This introductory course is designed for all psychologists with non-English-proficient patients.
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the use of interpreters for clinical communication with persons who have limited understanding of English. It is intended for psychologists, with a focus on the unique challenges and complexities of the interpreting process. Furthermore, this course will give practitioners a glimpse inside the world of interpreters so they can appreciate the dynamics involved in interpreting and assist in building a relationship of mutual respect and collaboration and an effective working environment with interpreters.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Identify demographic trends that speak to the multicultural diversity in the United States.
- Explain the legal context of using interpreters.
- Identify the merits and limitations of the different perspectives of interpreting.
- Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the different interpreter models used in organizations and barriers to using professional interpreters.
- Describe the challenges in the interpreting process.
- Discuss best practices for building a positive and collaborative relationship between interpreters and practitioners.
- Explain ethical issues for practitioners when working with patients not proficient in English and when working with interpreters.
- Describe ethical principles for interpreters.
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, received her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University, School of Social Work. She has clinical experience in mental health in correctional settings, psychiatric hospitals, and community health centers. In 1997, she received her PhD from UCLA, School of Public Policy and Social Research. Dr. Yick Flanagan completed a year-long post-doctoral fellowship at Hunter College, School of Social Work in 1999. In that year she taught the course Research Methods and Violence Against Women to Masters degree students, as well as conducting qualitative research studies on death and dying in Chinese American families.
Previously acting as a faculty member at Capella University and Northcentral University, Dr. Yick Flanagan is currently a contributing faculty member at Walden University, School of Social Work, and a dissertation chair at Grand Canyon University, College of Doctoral Studies, working with Industrial Organizational Psychology doctoral students. She also serves as a consultant/subject matter expert for the New York City Board of Education and publishing companies for online curriculum development, developing practice MCAT questions in the area of psychology and sociology. Her research focus is on the area of culture and mental health in ethnic minority communities.
Contributing faculty, Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
James Trent, PhD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.