Course Description & Objectives

Mental health professionals play a vital role in supporting clients through emotional, psychological, and social challenges. This interactive workshop equips interpreters with practical insights into how social workers operate within mental health systems, through resource navigation, crisis intervention, advocacy, case coordination, and assessment, and how these responsibilities shape communication with Deaf and hard of hearing clients across therapeutic settings. Emphasizing trauma-informed and client-centered approaches, this session highlights the bridge between interpreters and mental health professionals in fostering communication that is clear, empathetic, and ethically grounded, protecting clients’ emotional well-being and strengthening the flow of information throughout the therapeutic process.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• List a minimum of three core concepts of trauma-informed care and explain their relevance to interpreting in mental health settings.
• Identify at least three communication or ethical challenges interpreters may encounter when working with clients experiencing mental health conditions.
• Discuss a minimum of three collaborative strategies for ensuring accurate, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed interpretation that supports a client’s emotional and psychological well-being.
• Describe at least two ways mental health professionals’ insights into a client’s history, emotional state, or treatment plan can inform an interpreter’s approach to communication and role boundaries.