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Working with Interpreters & Culture Brokers

Guidelines for working with interpreters

Working with Interpreters
This chapter provides an orientation to working with mental health interpreters from the book, Cultural Consultation: Encountering the Other in Mental Health Care, with a review of relevant research literature and theoretical models followed by guidelines and practical recommendations relevant to cultural consultation.

Guidelines for Working Effectively with Interpreters in Mental Health Settings 
This document from the Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit in Melbourne, Australia, provides succinct and clearly-presented information on interpreting in mental health settings, the interpreting profession, the characteristics of interpreted meetings, as well as guidelines intended to assist health care professionals develop the knowledge and skills needed to work effectively with interpreters. With the exception of some information about booking interpreters and legal issues, which is specific to Australia, this document is relevant and applicable to clinicians working in Canada.

Working with Interpreters: Guidelines for Psychologists
This guide from the British Psychological Society provides information for psychologists on working with interpreters. Subjects include preparation before the consultation/meeting, practical considerations, guidelines during and after the meeting/consultation itself and telephone interpreting. Some of the information contained in this document may be specific to the UK, but general recommendations on working with interpreters should be equally applicable to professionals working in Canada.

Working with Interpreters 
This brief article provides an overview of issues involved in working with interpreters in mental health. The article covers topics such as the distinction between linguistic and cultural translation, and provides a set of general guidelines for working with interpreters. (Rachel Tribe, 2007. The Psychologist 20 (3): 159- 161).

Working with Interpreters Across Language and Culture in Mental Health
This paper published in the Journal of Mental Health in 2009 draws upon the literature and clinical accounts to provide a set of positive practice guidelines on working with interpreters in mental health.

Working with Culture Brokers

Culture Brokers, Clinically Applied Ethnography, and Cultural Mediation
This chapter looks at the practice of cultural mediation and the role of culture broker in medical settings with a focus on the Cultural Consultation Service (CCS) of the Jewish General Hospital and ethnopsychiatric consultation in other settings.

Cultural Brokers BlogSpot 
The Cultural Brokers BlogSpot provides information and brochures for cultural brokers such as definitions, the role cultural brokers play in a multicultural context and their importance in service delivery. This site also describes some key terms and concepts that community organizations which use cultural brokers should know in order to provide appropriate care for people from different ethnocultural backgrounds. It also provides information about managing multicultural teams and ways of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in a way that preserves mutual respect and minimizes antagonism.