Spanish-English Bilingual Psychotherapists: Personal and Professional Language Development and Use

The rapid rise of the Spanish-speaking population in the United States has resulted in an increased demand for Spanish language mental health services. Yet little is known about the training needs of practitioners who provide those services. This qualitative study used in-depth telephone interviews to examine the experiences of 13 Spanish-English bilingual therapists, both native Spanish speakers and heritage speakers of Spanish, in their personal and professional language development and use. The phenomenological analysis highlighted the complexities of living in 2 worlds and providing psychological services in 2 languages. Participants reported that they often felt isolated and disconnected as they struggled to learn and use the 2 languages in their personal and professional lives. While the participants took pride in having the skills of speaking 2 languages and serving a community that is in need, all were aware of their limitations when working bilingually, as they had not received training to do so. Translating their own thoughts during the session, using technical vocabulary, and understanding the variations of Spanish were particularly challenging for the participants who were heritage speakers.