Date of Award

4-25-2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Mark R. McMinn, PhD

Second Advisor

Ludmila Praslova, PhD

Third Advisor

Kathleen Gathercoal, PhD

Abstract

The issue of diversity has become one of the most salient among mental health professionals in the past few decades. As the American society becomes more and more diverse the need for professionals who can provide culturally competent services will continue to rise. One of the important aspects of culture is language. When serving clients who are monolingual it is not always possible to find a therapist who fluently speaks the client's language. Therefore, professionals often have to use interpreters in order to adequately serve their clients. Initial research on interpreter competence is concerning, with one study reporting an average of 31 mistakes in a single appointment (Flores et al., 2003) Few instruments are available to assess interpreter's competence, and no instruments would assess interpreters' competence in mental health. The current study describes the initial development of an instrument for assessing interpreters' competence in mental health in the Russian language. The Interpreter Competency Exam-Mental Health (ICE-MH) is comprised of three sections: Mental Health Terminology, Knowledge of the Key Mental Health Concepts, and Ethics. The results of this initial evaluation are promising: the ICE-MH demonstrates high inter-rater reliability, internal consistence, and strong validity coefficients. The length of the test in its current form is cumbersome, so additional research is needed to shorten and refine the test.

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