Interpreting and the Mental Status Exam

Interpreting and the Mental Status Exam

Meghan L. Fox, Robert Q. Pollard Jr.
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8544-3.ch032
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Abstract

The necessity of engaging qualified interpreters to work in partnership with mental health clinicians when serving patients with a limited English proficiency (LEP) is gaining widespread support. Numerous research studies have documented improved patient health and satisfaction outcomes in this regard. Psychiatric practice often involves complexities of thought, language, and communication that clinicians and interpreters must appreciate. One such topic is engaging LEP patients in the mental status examination (MSE). This chapter describes the nature of the MSE, challenges when interpreting for the MSE, strategies for handling such challenges, and approaches for effective collaboration between interpreters and mental health clinicians regarding the MSE and cross-linguistic mental health care more broadly. The current state of scholarship in the field of mental health interpreting and training opportunities for interpreters who seek to improve their knowledge and skills in the mental health arena also are discussed.
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Background

What is the Mental Status Exam? The MSE is an important component of many clinical interviews. Its results can inform the patient’s history, diagnosis, and treatment plan (Barnhill, 2014). All medical clinicians are trained to do the MSE, but it is most often used by clinicians in the mental health field. Its frequent use and value are comparable to taking a patient’s vital signs in other fields of medicine. So why does this matter for interpreters? A patient’s preferred language and culture must be taken into account when conducting and interpreting the results of the MSE. Linguistically and culturally, the patient must be able to understand the MSE questions and communicate their answers, while the clinician must be able to interpret the patient’s responses in light of potential linguistic and cultural differences between clinician and patient (Pollard, 1998a; Norris, Clark & Shipley, 2016). Interpreters play a crucial role in ensuring that these linguistic and cultural elements are accurately conveyed and considered in this important phase of a patient’s clinical assessment and care.

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