Research findings – who cares, who knows and who does anything with them?

Beverley Costa

www.mothertongue.org.uk

Migration, Care, Language & Identity:

Multi-disciplinary perspectives

University of Reading

November 3rd 2016

Mothertongue multi-ethnic counselling service

• Culturally and linguistically sensitive professional counselling service for people from black and minority ethnic communities

• Founded in 2000 as a response to major gap in service provision identified by research

• Risk- embracing approach

• Committed to increasing body of knowledge by research and widespread dissemination of learning

• Equality and Diversity Research Award, with Prof Jean-Marc Dewaele (2013), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

• Collaboration with CELM, University of Reading

The clinical model

• All therapists are multilingual and clients’ own experiences of multilingualism are engaged with because…

• People who have migrated feel healthcare providers underestimate language issues and language barriers leading to greater feelings of paranoia and aggression for service users. (De Maesschalck , 2012)

This model of service is based on some specific research findings plus the service’s own experience and observations.

All these sources of knowledge are treated as evidence.

Generating knowledge

•We try to understand experience through observing, reflecting, acting, and reassessing through multiple perspectives

•Builds on Kolb’s Cycle

2. Response: Providing

service

3.Evaluate

4.Respond

1.Observe

The Social Response Cycle

And all of these services: •Brief relationship counselling service •A Place to Belong •Groups – Knitting/English •Mental Health Interpreting and Language support

volunteers

•National Bilingual Therapist and Mental Health Interpreter Forum

Art Project

Impact of Mothertongue

Evaluation methodologies include quantitative studies

• 3,000 counselling clients

• 2,900 interpreting appointments

• Before and after measures indicate marked improvements in people’s relationships, confidence, hope for future and physical health

• 2 or 3 people per client on average have experienced the benefit at second hand from client receiving our services

Wider Reach

My Languages Matter: The multilingual outlook for children in care

Other forms of sharing knowledge?

A creative example

An anthology of interpreters’ writing: In Other Words:

the interpreters’ story

A facilitated creative writing group for interpreters to write about their personal and professional experiences.

IN MORE WORDS

We are looking for stories from interpreters from across the globe for our new anthology.

Please tell everyone you know!

“The Session” was seen by 1,188 people in London in 2015

…… and a new play is commissioned with support of Arts Council. Rehearsed readings in London and Reading, Summer 2016

Collaboration with Dr Teresa Murjas, University of Reading

Department of Film, Theatre & Television

Performance and multi-media legacy production about Helping Triangles:

Helper, Interpreter, Client

Colleagues Across Borders: online support

No evidence for Colleagues Across Borders before we started.

Just listening to a doctor (Dr Nott) talking on Radio 4’s PM programme in the summer of 2013, about his experiences working voluntarily as a surgeon across the world in humanitarian crises.

Colleagues Across Borders: online support

• Support for psychosocial workers in Refugee Support NGOs in the Middle East (in camp and urban settings) via Skype since 2013

•Probono support from14 senior practitioners: (psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, therapists) from UK and NZ

•90 hours of support so far for trained refugees who professionally support vulnerable refugees in the Middle East

What is Dr Nott doing now?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37349239?ocid=socialflow_twitter

So – who cares and who knows?

A lot of people can care and can respond if knowledge is shared in a way that energises them to take action.

5,000 people have benefited from one small service which wouldn’t have existed if we had only used conventional “evidence” to justify the service.

Thank you for listening to me.

For more information about Mothertongue:

www.mothertongue.org.uk