Caught in the Middle: Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Mental Health Counselors as Language Brokers

Abstract

Literature regarding language brokering has primarily focused on family and community members serving as language brokers. However, bilingual mental health counselors often find themselves serving as language brokers as well. In this article we focus on bilingual mental health counselors who work with the growing Spanish-speaking immigrant population in the United States. We examine bilingual counselors without formal training in Spanish who serve as language brokers, and examine the ethical and professional challenges they face. Such challenges highlight the complexities of living in two worlds and providing psychological services in two languages. In examining their roles as language brokers, we discuss implications for future mental health counseling practice, training, and research. We present the ¡BIEN! Bilingual and Bicultural Counseling Services model for training counselors to deliver services to Spanish-speaking clients, along with recommendations for training programs.