Decodificando la salud mental: effective Spanish communication and cultural understanding in a therapy session with the Hispanic community

Abstract

This project addresses the need for linguistic and cultural competence between U.S. mental health providers and Spanish-speaking clients. There is an increasing need for mental health providers to conduct therapy sessions in Spanish, but there is a lack of programs that train these professionals to provide successful sessions. This project presents results from a language needs analysis that was conducted to determine the linguistic and cultural needs required to have therapy sessions in Spanish. Data was triangulated using different methods and sources, including on-site therapy session observations, a survey for Spanish-speaking university students, a survey for graduate students studying psychology, and interviews with both mental health providers and Spanish-speaking community members. The results show the language tasks and functions and the cultural components and considerations necessary to interact successfully in Spanish in the context of mental health. This project illuminates the urgent need for a comprehensive Spanish program for mental health professionals. This research aims to start bridging the language and cultural gap for Spanish-speaking clients in the U.S. when they access mental health services.