Handlungsempfehlungen für die dolmetschergestützte Psychotherapie mit Flüchtlingen und Asylbewerbern: Ergebnisse qualitativer Interviews mit Psychotherapeuten und Dolmetschern zu Chancen und Herausforderungen in der Triade

Background: Due to the large number of refugees showing a high prevalence of mental disorders, there is an increasing focus on the psychotherapeutic care of these people. Interpreters are generally needed to enable communication between therapist and patient. Material and Methods: Based on guided interviews, opportunities, challenges and recommendations for interpreter-aided therapy were examined from the psychotherapists' (n = 5) and the interpreters' (n = 3) point of view and analyzed following the rules of qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Results: The interview partners named the necessity of legally regulated financing of interpreter expenses and the establishment of permanent interpreter pools and specialized therapy centers as external conditions for successful interpreter-supported psychotherapies. They emphasized the importance of a clear separation of roles, preliminary talks and follow-up discussions, the good match between patient and interpreter with regard to their cultural background, as well as full and accurate first-person translations. Within the triad, they underlined the importance of a harmonious relationship between therapist and interpreter. Conclusions: Successful interpreter-aided psychotherapy requires the structural framework and the skills and burdens of the psychotherapists and interpreters to be taken into consideration. Further empirical studies including the patients' perspective are needed.