The role of language in training psychologists to work with Hispanic clients.

Abstract

The increasing number of Spanish and English bilingual and Spanish-dominant clients requesting psychological services creates challenges for practitioners and agencies. Literature regarding the importance of the Spanish language in providing service to Hispanic clients is reviewed. It is argued that services to Spanish-speaking clients are frequently inadequate because of the lack of training in the use of Spanish in professional settings. A model for training psychologists to provide psychological services in Spanish is presented along with recommendations for practitioners who are struggling with the dilemma of providing services in a language other than that of their professional training. JOAN L. BIEVER received her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 and is dean of graduate studies and professor of psychology at Our Lady of the Lake University. Her research interests include training needs of bilingual psychologists and process and outcomes of postmodern therapies. M. TERESA CASTAN ˜O received her MS in psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, where she is currently a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology. CYNTHIA DE LAS FUENTES received her PhD in counseling psychology in 1994 from the University of Texas at Austin. She is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Our Lady of the Lake University. Her research interests include multicultural and gender issues and ethics. CYNTHIA GONZA ´LEZ received her PhD in school psychology in 1989 from Texas A & M University. She is an associate professor and the director of school psychology in the Department of Psychology at Our Lady of the Lake University. Her research interests include bilingual psychological services, Hispanics and higher education, and behavioral and emotional disorders in childhood. SELIA SERVI ´N-LO ´PEZ received her MS in psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, where she is currently a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology. CHRISTIE SPROWLS received her MS in psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, where she is currently a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology. CHARLOTTE G. TRIPP received her MS in psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, where she is currently a doctoral candidate. THE ORDER OF AUTHORS, except for the first, was determined by alphabetical order. WE WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE the contributions of Monte Bobele, Glen Gardner, Tony Neugebauer, and Sylvia London to the development of the programs described. We wish to thank Raelynn Alvarez and Alicia Vera for their work on earlier versions of the article and Peter G. Kirby for his editorial assistance.

Students' Experiences with Bilingual Counseling

“…These findings support those of other researchers (Biever et al, 2002;Verdinelli & Biever, 2009) who stated that even though there are bilingual counselors possibly capable of providing services to LEP clients, these counselors may be hesitant to do so because of a lack of training. Most of the participants highlighted the need for counseling programs to provide training opportunities for students to practice their bilingual language skills (speaking, reading, and writing).…”

“…Instead, they reported learning "to provide services to Spanish-speaking clients through trial and error or by studying and researching the subject on their own" (Verdinelli & Biever, 2009, p. 236). This is similar to results reported by Biever et al (2002) and Rivas, Delgado-Romero and Ozambela (2005), in which participants reported self-training and limited bilingual supervision opportunities. Also, similar to Biever et al (2002), participants in Verdinelli and Biever's (2009) study indicated that formal training, such as content courses and clinical supervision specific to bilingual services, would be helpful.…”

“…This is similar to results reported by Biever et al (2002) and Rivas, Delgado-Romero and Ozambela (2005), in which participants reported self-training and limited bilingual supervision opportunities. Also, similar to Biever et al (2002), participants in Verdinelli and Biever's (2009) study indicated that formal training, such as content courses and clinical supervision specific to bilingual services, would be helpful. Particular challenges of bilingual services reported by participants included translating their thoughts from their dominant language to their second language, using technical vocabulary, and understanding language variations between Spanish-speaking clients (e.g., differences in accent, vocabulary; Verdinelli & Biever, 2009).…”

“…Based on the experiences of these participants, we endorse recommendations consistent with the literature (Biever et al, 2002;Verdinelli & Biever, 2009). There is a need for training in bilingual counseling in counselor preparation programs.…”

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision Volume 6 Issue 2 Fall 2014

“…Although there are relatively few mental health counselors with adequate linguistic skills to serve the LEP population, those who are bilingual and potentially capable of providing these services to LEP clients are often reticent to do so, possibly because they lack training in providing counseling services in languages other than English (Biever et al, 2002;Verdinelli & Biever, 2009). These data underscore the need for counseling programs that attend to the training and supervision of bilingual mental health counseling students-students who have the foundational linguistic abilities to provide counseling services to this growing LEP population.…”