Continuing Education for Interpreters

Description

The medical and legal systems are specialized cultures with their technical language, procedures, and sometimes mystifying ways of making decisions. Both the courts and the hospitals can be, at times, unfamiliar, irritating, and confusing even to the average person growing up in this culture.

The unique demands these settings make upon interpreters have led to procedures for curricula of specialized certification for medical and legal interpreters. But sometimes, the medical and legal arenas overlap, particularly in mental health and substance abuse.

The purpose of this session is to help to clarify some of these medical-legal situations, particularly the involuntary commitment of people with alcohol and drug programs to detox and rehab facilities and the involuntary commitment of mentally ill individuals to psychiatric hospitals. Even if interpreters do not always internally agree with the decisions made in these forums, it is essential to understand and appreciate the unique logic of the medical and legal systems and their intersection. In the medical-legal arena, the government’s power is used to enforce decisions that, at times, the patients disagree with and, at times, the family disagrees with. Patients may be angry with the family’s ability to control them through the state’s power. And similarly, families can sometimes be frustrated about the limits to which the state will intervene to promote what the family sees as their loved one’s well-being. Interpreting in these situations involves the usual technical challenges and the ability to deal with one’s own emotions and not be vicariously triggered by the families and patients upsets.

Learning Objectives:

• Acquire knowledge about the civil commitments under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 123 Mental Health, i.e., filing a section 12 or a section 35 on someone who has just been arrested.
• Become familiarized with different sections, their intended purpose, and who is authorized to sign the petitions. Who can file section 35 for the commitment of an alcohol or drug abuser? And what type of evidence do they need? What happens after the commitment is over?
• Clarify the intersection of law and psychiatry for interpreters who may internally feel some of the confusion, frustration, and irritation of the family members and patients that they are assisting.
• Learn to recognize triggers when interpreting in mental health settings.

Education Level: Intermediate to Advanced

About the Trainers

PJ Taucer, M.Ed., CMI, is a Case Manager at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and a recipient of its 2022 Citation for Outstanding Performance. With more than three decades of professional experience as a freelance interpreter in the medical and mental health field, she also serves as staff language coach at The Center for Health Impact promoting the advancement of interpreters. She is the vice-president of the Wachusett Medical Reserve Corps, where she volunteers educating communities about public health and emergency preparedness. Born in Bolivia, PJ is passionate about achieving equal access to healthcare for the LEP population. (Medical Reserve Corp), CERT Community Emergency Rescue Team) in emergency and disaster preparedness. She advocates and brings awareness to the public and institutions about integrating interpreters into emergency and disaster planning by developing and implementing presentations.

Paul Bail, Ph.D., has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Michigan. In his career, he has worked in school, hospital, and outpatient counseling settings and as a graduate school professor. For the past 30 years, he has specialized in evaluations for the courts. He has had a lifelong interest in meditation for psychological well-being and continues to host a weekly online meditation group open to the general public at no charge.

Credits/Contact Hours

Application for continuing education credits at CCHI/IMIA has been submitted and is pending approval.

Workshop Fees

Workshop Only: $35.00
CEU Fee: $45.00 ($41.62 fee + $3.38 service fee)
Workshop + CE Credits: $ 80.00