NCIEC Project: Mental Healthcare and Substance Abuse Interpreting

Mental Healthcare and Substance Abuse Interpreting

The NCIEC is working to identify and validate effective practices in programming and resources for teaching mental healthcare and substance abuse interpreting. To date, we have identified existing resources, current practices, and national experts in this area; conducted an informal review of the literature; held interviews with interpreters, providers, and consumers; and, through a series of national and regional focus groups, developed a draft set of domains and competencies that reflect effective interpreting service provision in this setting. An article in the January 2007 RID VIEWS and emails distributed to the NCIEC regions invited practitioners and mental healthcare providers to review and comment on the draft domains and competencies. The NCIEC work team is currently reviewing the survey results. Next steps during the current fiscal year will be to begin to evaluate existing mental healthcare interpreting programming to uncover examples of effective practice, and explore promising delivery methods for the programming that the NCIEC will develop during Year 3. Click here to review the draft Domains and Competencies (PDF).