Clients' Perspectives on Bilingual Therapy and Language Switching

摘要

This study set out to give a voice to bilingual therapy clients, as previous research into bilingual therapy experiences explored only the perspectives of therapists. In order to fully understand the phenomenon of bilingual therapy, the experiences bilingual therapy clients needed to be heard. The study used a qualitative heuristic design to interview 10 bilingual therapy clients on their experiences in bilingual therapy. The participants were interviewed in a semi-structured manner, meaning that while a set of eight interview questions was used, the participants were welcomed to focus on areas of exploration that were most relevant to them. The study revealed many findings that speak to the unique experiences of bilingual therapy clients, while also expanding upon findings in previous research. These included that clients tended to move toward powerful emotions in their native languages and away from such emotions in their second languages. Participants also revealed that people and experiences come to life most in the languages that they are associated with. The study revealed that bilingual therapy clients perceive themselves and their therapists differently depending on the language spoken. The results of the study open the door to future research that further expands on the themes that were uncovered. This includes examining bilingual therapy in couples and families as well as in other languages. In considering the clinical implications of the study, therapists must approach the results as guidelines and areas of exploration with clients rather than clinical techniques. In exploring themes together, therapists and clients can work collaboratively to integrate the findings in the study into clinical work.