It Is Called a Mother Tongue for a Reason

A Qualitative Study of Therapists' Perspectives on Bilingual Psychotherapy—Treatment Implications

Bibliographic Data

ID10516630
AuthorsEfrosini Kokaliari (Springfield College, corresponding author), Gia Catanzarite (Holyoke Community College), Joan Berzoff (0000-0002-4984-2431, Smith College)
Year2013
Volume83
Issue1
Pages97-118
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSmith College Studies in Social Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7317 • E-ISSN: 1553-0426
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00377317.2013.747396
OpenAlexW2008331479
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited22

This article is a qualitative study that explored therapists' understanding of the role of language in psychotherapy with bilingual clients. Among the findings were that it is typical for bilingual clients to switch back and forth between primary and secondary languages in psychotherapy, as their narratives are often expressed incompletely in a second language. Bilingual clients tend to return to their mother tongues when expressing strong affects, in their dreams, or when dealing with death or trauma. They may also use their first language as a defense against painful material. Interviewees concurred that bilingual clients express different values or even identities in different languages. Finally, language was reported to be a factor that influenced the therapeutic alliance, as, encoded in language, were issues of trust, idealization, and hostility toward the psychotherapist. Keywords: bilingual psychotherapyimmigrationlanguagepsychological aspects

Alliance · First language · Hostility · Idealization · Linguistics · Narrative · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sociology · Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Psychology

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