INT-735 Interpreting Mental Health Discourse

Course Overview

The course focuses on interpreting interaction in mental health settings. Students will be exposed to an overview of the mental health professions and the various roles of practitioners (counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, etc), including the interpreter’s role as a member of the professional team. Students will explore the theoretical approaches used by mental health practitioners and the conventions, expectations and culture in which these services are provided. The course includes a critical analysis of therapeutic discourse based on a variety of commonly available services such as the interactive aspects of peer support groups, drug and alcohol screenings, individual, couple, and group counseling, intake interviews, case conferences and hospital staffing, psychological testing and psychiatric evaluations. Students will apply text analysis skills to the translation, consecutive interpretation and simultaneous interpretation of discourse in therapeutic encounters.