Bilingual Counseling

Brief Historical Perspective

In the initial stages of psychodynamic theory, Sigmund Freud documented treatment with bilinguals, but language factors per se were not addressed as instruments of therapeutic change. In the 1930s, some psychodynamic clinicians explored bilingualism, and by the late 1940s a more definite view emerged of language choice as a defense mechanism. Case studies published in the 1950s described the impact of multiple languages on psychodynamic processes such as repression, ego functions, and transference. Further investigations in the 1970s reported differential client presentation in two languages, diagnostic errors, and unique processes and interventions. The multicultural movement that followed and contributions from psycholinguistics, cognitive and clinical psychology, psychometrics, and education have widened the understanding of relevant processes evident in bilingual counseling, which are relevant regardless of the theoretical orientation of the professional.

Bilingual Processes

Bilinguals are described as having a dual sense of self that responds differently to distinct contextual stimuli. Language duality allows for the conceptualization of two worlds, communication of thoughts and emotions differently, bicultural dynamics, different organizational sets of knowledge, and multiple self-identities. Intact cognitions and emotions that are specific to each language help store memories in different language domains that can be retrieved by the most meaningful language at a particular period of time.

Bilingual language development may be sequential or simultaneous. Maintenance of the first language (LI) and the second language (L2) depends on ecological support, acculturation level, language use, and sociopolitical factors. Language development encompasses learning to label emotions and cognitions that are associated with early attachments. Thus, a bilingual individual may be prone to experience affective content in LI or the language that endorses emotional meaning while affective detachment may be expected in L2. Similarly, a sense of logic and maturity may influence accessing L2 in decision making. When both languages are learned simultaneously and supported equally, the affective component may be accessible in both languages. Knowledge of the following bilingual concepts is necessary for competent practice.

Language switching, or code-switching, is a pattern where a word or phrase is replaced by another language within a sentence or a language shift for an extended period of time. The shift occurs from LI to L2 as well as from L2 to LI, may be involuntary or voluntary, and may be predictable by context. A voluntary shift can be (a) a purposeful strategy to be better understood, (b) a result of lack of fluency, or (c) an avoidance response. Code-switching is associated with memory of emotional content, defense mechanisms, cognitive coping skills, spontaneity, creativity, diverse attributions and interpretations, taboo words, and word retrieval problems. Words that are concrete or overlap semantically are easier to translate than words having unique meanings or abstractions such as emotions. Language mixing integrates characteristics of two languages into one word or phrase (e.g., Spanglish).

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