Presentation Information
[SY-91]Navigating Mental Health Systems: Informal Care, Multilingualism and Professional Interpreting
Mike Mösko1, Barbara Schouten2, Rowan Madzamba3, Muhammed Talha Topcu1 (1.University of Applied Science Magdeburg-Stendal(Germany), 2.University of Amsterdam(Netherlands), 3.Stellenbosch University(South Africa))
Keywords:
Multilingualism,professional interpreter,carer,Trust,migrant
This symposium brings together four interdisciplinary contributions that examine how migrants navigate mental health systems with the emphasis on conditions of multilingualism, structural, and emotional precarity.
The first presentation investigates informal caregiving practices among migrants in South Africa, revealing the emotional ambivalence and psychological toll of supporting others while lacking formal access to care oneself. These grassroots forms of care challenge dominant narratives and call for recognition of migrants as both caregivers and care recipients. The second presentation introduces the MentalHealth4all project, a multilingual digital platform developed across nine European countries to improve access to mental health services for migrants with low host-language proficiency. The platform significantly enhanced perceptions of access among migrants and professionals, demonstrating the promise of digital innovations in overcoming language barriers. The third presentation discusses Germany’s first model project for integrating professional interpreters into outpatient mental health care. Despite structural support and cost-free availability, uptake remains limited, highlighting motivational and organizational barriers that hinder broader implementation. The final presentation explores the relational dynamics in interpreter-mediated psychotherapy. Through qualitative interviews with patients, therapists, and interpreters, the study identifies trust, nonverbal communication, and emotional presence as key elements for building effective therapeutic relationships within triadic constellations.
Collectively, these contributions offer a nuanced understanding of how multilingual care is navigated, delivered, and experienced across informal, digital, and institutional settings. They underscore the importance of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies that go beyond mere access to engage with the complexities of trust, multilingual communication, and systemic inclusion in mental health care for migrants.
The first presentation investigates informal caregiving practices among migrants in South Africa, revealing the emotional ambivalence and psychological toll of supporting others while lacking formal access to care oneself. These grassroots forms of care challenge dominant narratives and call for recognition of migrants as both caregivers and care recipients. The second presentation introduces the MentalHealth4all project, a multilingual digital platform developed across nine European countries to improve access to mental health services for migrants with low host-language proficiency. The platform significantly enhanced perceptions of access among migrants and professionals, demonstrating the promise of digital innovations in overcoming language barriers. The third presentation discusses Germany’s first model project for integrating professional interpreters into outpatient mental health care. Despite structural support and cost-free availability, uptake remains limited, highlighting motivational and organizational barriers that hinder broader implementation. The final presentation explores the relational dynamics in interpreter-mediated psychotherapy. Through qualitative interviews with patients, therapists, and interpreters, the study identifies trust, nonverbal communication, and emotional presence as key elements for building effective therapeutic relationships within triadic constellations.
Collectively, these contributions offer a nuanced understanding of how multilingual care is navigated, delivered, and experienced across informal, digital, and institutional settings. They underscore the importance of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies that go beyond mere access to engage with the complexities of trust, multilingual communication, and systemic inclusion in mental health care for migrants.