Working with British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters: lessons from child and adolescent mental health services in the U.K.

Background: Having good access to information is crucial when attending an appointment with a health professional; for 5% of the world’s population, who have some degree of hearing loss, this is challenging. With the introduction of acts against discrimination in the U.K., there is a responsibility to provide equitable access to services; best practice states that professionals should work with a registered British Sign Language Interpreter. In child and adolescent mental health services, practitioners may work with the deaf child/young person and their families; this presents many challenges. Previous models of interpreting do not lend themselves to this setting; interpreters need to have high levels of language and two-way interpreting skills, imparting detailed information about language and communication demands they face.Method: The role of the interpreter in the team was audited at two time points using an activity recording sheet; this is integrated with available literature and our clinical expertise.Results: Based on iterative audits and expert panels to discuss good practice, we have formulated a helpful way of working with interpreters. To enable robust assessments and therapeutic interventions, clinicians and interpreters are required to co-work. We discuss our experiences of helpful practices when working with interpreters including the importance of pre-appointment meetings, co-working during sessions, and debriefing.Conclusion: We make recommendations for working with deaf children/young people, improving communication with them and their families, and their experience of services, all of which could potentially improve outcomes.