Clinical communication and the ‘triangle of care’ in mental health and deafness : Sign language interpreters’ perspectives

Chatzidamianos, G. and Fletcher, I. and Wedlock, L. and Lever, R. (2019) Clinical communication and the ‘triangle of care’ in mental health and deafness : Sign language interpreters’ perspectives. Patient Education and Counseling, 102 (11). pp. 2010-2015. ISSN 0738-3991

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Abstract

Objective To explore the processes by which therapeutic alliance develops in mental health consultations with Sign Language interpreters. Method Semi-structured interviews with 7 qualified interpreters were transcribed and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results Two key themes were generated: (1) Nurturing the triangle of care, where the therapeutic process relied on collaboration, continuity, and trust; and (2) Shared vision and knowledge, in which participants felt misunderstood and unsupported; there was a lack of deaf awareness and clinicians appeared to feel deskilled. Conclusions Interpreters should be viewed as valued members of clinical teams and have access to clinical supervision so that they can be supported in interpreting emotional distressing content. Clinicians can aim to be collaborative with interpreters and improve their knowledge of mental health issues that are relevant to deaf people. Practice Implications An aide-memoire of the role and practicalities of working with SL interpreters should be developed and disseminated to relevant services to support collaborative working with clinicians. A core competence in SL interpreter training is reflexivity. This should be embedded in educational curricula and facilitated through clinical supervision. Funding by commissioning services should be subject to services being deaf aware and interpreters being mental health aware.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Patient Education and Counseling
Additional Information:
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Patient Education and Counseling. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Patient Education and Counseling, 102, 11, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2019.05.06
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700
Subjects:
?? deafnessinterpretersipamental healthqualitativetherapeutic alliancemedicine(all) ??
ID Code:
134062
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
22 Jun 2019 09:14
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
31 Dec 2023 01:04