ISRIDOct. 23, 2015

Invisible Boundaries in Mental Health Interpreting

Adan R. Penilla, II PhD

NAD IV, NIC, CI/CT, SC:L, ASLTA

Colorado State Univ.- Adjunct Professor

Aslworldmatters.com

Visible Boundaries IRID Tenets

• Confidentiality • Professional

skills/knowledge • Conduct• Respect colleagues

and consumers• Ethical business

practices (monetary and professional)

• GOOD JUDGEMENT

Visible Boundaries II

• HIPPA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 1996

• United States Department of Health and Human Services---www.hhs.gov/ocr/hippa

Service Models of Interpreting:Hindrance or Help?

• The Helper Model• The Facilitator• The Conduit• The Bi-Bi Method• The Ally

Discussions: Judgment and Ethics

• When you assume control, you assume the responsibility

Characteristics of a Mental Health Interpreter

• Others centered

• Patient but respectful

• Team player

• Confident

• Focused

• Anticipating what is next

The Dangers of Detours

• Bonding and friendship

• Staff steps out of the room, so does the interpreter?

• Gifts, jokes and community bonds

• Position of trust

Assignment Preparation: The Judgment Call• Dress appropriately

• Greeting before/after assignment

• Meeting with the doctor, staff

• Getting information

• Invoicing

• The criminal mind

• Is a Deaf interpreter needed?

Personal Boundaries: From Shoes to Tattoos

• Whose view is a priority?

• Your view

• The doctor’s view

• The patient’s view

• The agency view

Boundaries not Bridges: Manipulation

• What is the criminal mind?

• MANIPULATION • Passive

Aggressive personalities

• Volunteering information: questions/your answers

On Assignment: Boundaries or Bear hugs

• A hug to a conflicted mind

• A handshake to a conflicted mind.

• Eye gaze to a conflicted mind

• Self- Adapter to a conflicted mind

Making the Invisible, Visible:Information Gathering• Get as much

information as possible

• Staff may have daily encounters with the client

• Staff complaints about the last interpreter

Visible Boundaries: The Buck Stops Here

• Invoicing

• Have paperwork filled out

• Knowing all you need to know prior to meeting the client

Orientation on Assignment:Fence Me In

• Meeting staff

• What type of power do you hold?

• How should you use your power?

• Staff knowing some sign

Invisible Boundaries Revealed

• How do you know when a Deaf interpreter is needed?

• What is at stake?

• Can you be called into testify for your decisions?

• Court interpreting: Agent of the Defense

Family Therapy

• If family members sign, this may be helpful or hurtful

One on One Therapy

• Where to be seated

• Consecutive and simultaneous interpreting

Group Therapy

• Dealing with patients’ comments

• Mocking the interpreter

• Flirting patients

• Angry patients, intimidation

Self Analysis and Validation

• Keeping the perspective in perspective

• Your best ally or your worst critic

Preparing in Settings I: Demand and Control

Are You Informed?

Are You Comfortabl

e?

Are You situated?

What are Your

Obstacles?

What are Your

Solutions?

Preparing in Settings II: Demand and Control

• Male/ female clients

• Mental Institutions- forensic unit• Adult unit• Juvenile unit

• County jails/state prisons• minimum security• maximum

security

Preparing in Settings III: Demand and Control

Social Behavior and Professional

Behavior

Where is Your Eye Contact?

Where are You Mentally?

What is Making You

Uneasy?

What are You doing about

the Uneasiness?

Integrity

• Private (Moral) Issues• Biased against

an illness• Religious beliefs

and work• Professional Issues

• Are you a good match, over your head?

• How do you know?

Feminist-Rationalist Model

Listening and non judgment

Consensus building for agreement, buy-in before proceeding

Cooperation for the greater good, no competition

Empowerment to the person in question

Experience not science as truth

Misdiagnosis and the Truth

• Do not misinterpret for the sake of being nice

• An interpreted session does not define the interpreter

Misdiagnosis and the Deaf

• Deaf facial expression

• Deaf voice intonation

• Deaf emotional signing

Misdiagnosis and the Interpreter

• False starts and miscues

• Interpreter not matching

• Interpreter not clear

• Interpreter not understanding Deaf culture

Misdiagnosis and the Therapist

• Therapist has no training with interpreters

• Therapist allies with interpreter

• Therapist does not understand Deaf culture

A Happy Ending or the End of Happiness

• Many sessions are on-going and may continue after you are gone

• Leave the assignment at the assignment

Conclusion

….and when the day has ended and pausing to reflect, know that what the heart has said are words they won’t forget. B. Derfler