Being Heard and Understood in the Context of Seeking Asylum and Refuge: Communicating With the Help of Bilingual Co-workers

This article explores a collaborative approach to working with interpreters and families in the context of child and adolescent mental health service provision. It proposes that the quality and efficacy of the practitioner’s work is enhanced when the contribution made by interpreters and families is maximized. One way of doing this is by working with interpreters as bilingual co-workers. Practitioners hold the primary responsibility for identifying the language needs of families and for facilitating effective communication with them. Service managers have an important role in relation to securing the necessary interpreting resources to support the practitioners’ work. The article suggests that practitioners draw on the full range of competencies that bilingual co-workers possess and the range of roles they are able to undertake. It also suggests that use is made of a broad contextual framework for understanding the psychological needs of young people and their families. Reflective practice ensures that the emotional responses of all the participants involved in the therapeutic encounter are processed and incorporated into the work.