Multilingualism in Psychotherapists in Training in Germany: Results of a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Patients who speak languages other than those spoken by mental health professionals are significantly disadvantaged in mental health care settings. To bridge the communication gap, multilingual health professionals and professional interpreters are target-orientated solutions. This study was conducted to assess the multilingual resources, attitudes and needs of psychotherapist trainees in Germany. A cross-sectional nationwide online survey was conducted on psychotherapists-in-training. The 48-item survey consisted of a self-developed instrument to assess ‘Attitudes towards working with an Interpreter in Health Care Services (AIHC-20)’ with partly reasonable psychometric properties. Psychotherapists-in-training were reached via 238 institutes for psychotherapy training in Germany. Some 803 psychotherapists-in-training completed the survey, of whom 27% had a migration background and 76% would treat patients in a language other than German. According to the participants, on average, 7.5% of their treated patients had limited German skills. The likeability of treating patients with limited German skills and of working with professional interpreters was positively influenced by a personal migration background, cross-cultural encounters in everyday life and previous work experience. Some 52% of all trainees had experience in working with an interpreter and 72% of them stated a training on ‘psychotherapy with an interpreter’ to be useful. The linguistic diversity among future psychotherapists is not able to fully cover the patients’ actual multilingual needs. Therefore, qualified interpreters need to be integrated into mental health care services. In addition to adequate funding and minimal qualification standards for interpreters, psychotherapists need to be trained to overcome cultural barriers.