TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 3-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 3 399 more attentive to the client’s statements and nonverbal communication in bilingual counseling settings than in working with native English-speaking clients . Several scholars explored counselors’ understanding of clients’ intention behind switching languages in counseling sessions. These included clients’ attempts and desires to: (a) express emotions more accurately and comprehensively (Kokaliari et al., 2013; Verdinelli & Biever, 2009); (b) enhance communication with a counselor (Kokaliari et al., 2013; Verdinelli & Biever, 2009); (c) recall specific memories such as traumatic events and dreams (Kokaliari et al., 2013); or (d) emphasize their point of view to a counselor (Kokaliari et al., 2013). As discussed earlier, these findings significantly overlapped with the clients’ perceptions of the roles of language in counseling (Rolland et al., 2017). In the study by Vaquero and Williams (2019), the counselors worked with bilingual families—young children and their parents/caregivers. These counselors noted that caregivers spoke with their children in Spanish to communicate their affection, whereas English was often used to discipline children. The participants in Verdinelli and Biever’s study (2009) noticed that clients tended to discuss particular events in the language in which those experiences occurred. According to Kokaliari et al. (2013), the participants explained how some clients used their non-native language to discuss topics that are considered culturally taboo (e.g., sexual abuse, sexual orientation) or not consistent with their cultural framework. According to Verdinelli and Biever (2009), some participants believed that clients switched languages to avoid engaging in a deeper level of self-exploration. A similar observation was made by the participants in Kokaliari et al.’s (2013) study, in that clients seemed to use a second language when they needed to process highly emotional events such as trauma. In this case, participants perceived the client’s decision to switch languages as a form of self-protection. With regard to a counselor’s intention to switch languages, Santiago-Rivera et al. (2009) indicated that Spanish–English-speaking bilingual counselors in their study switched from English to Spanish in order to establish a strong rapport with clients, engage or redirect clients in session, facilitate a client’s self-reflection and emotional expression, or foster self-awareness. According to Vaquero and Williams (2019), the Spanish–English bilingual counselors stated that they often deliberately switched to Spanish to connect with parents/caregivers in a counseling session, whereas they switched to English to build rapport with child clients. These counselors also switched languages to strengthen caregiver–child relationships. Collaboration With Interpreters To meet the needs of linguistically diverse clients, counselors, when possible and appropriate, may work with an interpreter. Mirza et al. (2017) examined potential challenges and benefits of collaboration with interpreters in counseling sessions. In this study, a doctoral-level psychology student served as the counselor and conducted interpreter-mediated counseling sessions with six clients whose primary language was not English. This counselor encountered a few challenges, including feeling excluded from side talks between the interpreter and the client, difficulty ensuring the accuracy and thoroughness of interpretations, and redirecting the interpreter to facilitate a session. The counselor perceived that using simple words and concise statements, checking in with clients periodically for clarification, and consecutive interpretations (translation following a statement by a counselor or a client) as opposed to simultaneous interpretations were helpful to a therapeutic relationship. To make an interpreter-mediated session beneficial to clients, the counselor in this study found it critical that both the interpreter and the counselor make the necessary adjustments to the counseling or interpretation approach as well as clearly defining each other’s roles in a session. In other words, when there is a synergy between a counselor and an interpreter, the interpreter’s involvement is likely to foster a counselor–client relationship and offer additional support to a client.