Mental Health Interpreting: The Interpreter’s Impact On Consultations. Discrepant Views, Do Rules Represent Practice?

<p dir="ltr">Interpreter-mediated mental healthcare is a common practice within Public Service Interpreting that deserves further research due to its particular characteristics and demands. This need is acute in our increasingly globalized world in which demands for mental health services are ever growing. Although the need for interpreters is not disputed, it is often argued that the presence of the interpreter renders therapeutic consultation more complex. This thesis investigates in what way the interpreter’s presence affects the dynamics of the mental health consultations with foreign patients and how it is experienced from the perspectives of the interpreter and the mental-health professional. My second overall aim is to study the extent to which interpreting theory is found useful in mental health interpreting practice. To achieve the aims stated, the following objectives have been established: (1) determine the ways in which the presence of the interpreter affects the dynamics of the mental health consultation; (2) determine the extent to which the mental health professional’s perception of the interpreter’s role has an impact on the interpreted consultation; (3) determine the extent to which the interpreter’s own perception of their role has an impact on the interpreted consultation; (4) determine how the interpreter bridges gaps in cultural differences; (5) determine how successful interpreters’ accommodations are to the rules in the interpreted interaction. This study employs a mixed method approach based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods and draws on primary empirical data from fieldwork carried out in the UK and Spain. Semi-structured interviews have been made to mental health professionals who have previously worked with interpreters and to interpreters who have interpreted in mental health. For data analysis thematic analysis and literature sources from literature review are used. Finally, interpreter-mediated simulated consultations have been video-recorded and analyzed in the light of Wadensjö (1998)’s Interpreting as interaction model and Merlini and Favaron (2007)’s Categories of footing model. The data casts striking light on the significant disparities between interpreting theory and the practice in mental health interpreting in the settings observed. Overall, the thesis breaks new ground by ,making new recommendations for future training for both interpreters and mental health professionals.</p>