Challenges of providing mental health services in Spanish.

Abstract

The disparity in mental health services to Spanish-speaking clients is well documented. This study examines the service delivery experiences of Spanish-speaking mental health providers by exploring their perceptions and concerns regarding their competence and training to provide services in Spanish. It also identifies practitioner priorities for improving training experiences specific to bilingual mental health service delivery. Implications for graduate psychology programs are discussed in an effort to promote and enhance necessary competencies regarding bilingual training endeavors.

Students' Experiences with Bilingual Counseling

“…Similar to the findings reported by Castaño et al (2007), all participants in this study reported that they had not received any kind of formal training in providing counseling services in another language. These findings support those of other researchers (Biever et al, 2002;Verdinelli & Biever, 2009) who stated that even though there are bilingual counselors possibly capable of providing services to LEP clients, these counselors may be hesitant to do so because of a lack of training.…”

“…Mental health counselors-intraining speaking a second language often employed informal resources of double-checking their language skills with classmates, family members, or friends. Few reported utilizing the informal training discussed by Castaño et al (2007) (e.g., popular media, books, journals, immersion). Five of the six participants identified the connection with the client as one of the most positive consequences of doing bilingual counseling, attributing it to being perceived as having the language skills as well as the understanding of cultural values.…”

“…They also highlighted the importance of bilingual supervision in the training of bilingual therapists-in particular, with supervisors who are bilingual and knowledgeable of pertinent cultural issues. Concerning informal training, Castaño et al (2007) reported that participants utilized the popular media, books, journals, and immersion experiences to enhance their second-language proficiency. With respect to professional growth, participants reported seeking consultation from Spanish-speaking colleagues and professionals.…”

Agir pour avoir accès à des services sociaux et de santé en français

“…Nous ne pouvons pas tenir pour acquis qu'une personne bilingue pouvant converser dans une langue seconde peut s'exprimer au même niveau qu'une personne dont cette langue est la première langue. Cet enjeu s'avère encore plus marqué quand le client est en détresse, exprime des émotions, ou analyse et interprète des événements (Castano, Biever, Gonzalez et Anderson, 2007).…”

La formation à l’offre active de services de santé et de services sociaux en français — La valeur ajoutée du Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS)

“…Ainsi, appuyé par toute une équipe de collaborateurs chevronnés, le CNFS a lancé en janvier 2012 une première série de matériel imprimé (Bouchard et Savoie, 2011;Lortie, Lalonde et Bouchard, 2012) (Castaño, et collab., 2007) démontre également que certains facteurs, tels la douleur, la vulnérabilité ou le stress, font souvent en sorte que les personnes, qui maîtrisent pourtant bien le français et l'anglais dans d'autres circonstances, n'arrivent plus à s'exprimer adéquatement dans leur langue seconde. D'ailleurs, selon Sarah Bowen (2001), les barrières linguistiques engendrent des risques tant pour ces personnes que pour l'organisme qui leur offre des soins ou des services.…”