Multilingual matrix: exploring the process of language switching by family therapists working with multilingual families

摘要

This article explores the phenomenon of language switching in clinical practice in the systemic psychotherapy field. I consider multilingual therapists’ experiences of switching from use of one language to another in the therapeutic context, the therapists’ awareness of this, and the intentions or possible meanings they attribute to these experiences. The interpretative phenomenological approach was used to analyse the experiences of four female family therapists based in London and from a range of cultures and communities. It was found that the therapists construed their multilingual position as both challenging and advantageous. Suggestions are made to explore the language switching phenomenon in supervision and training, as well as to think more widely with monolingual and multilingual colleagues and supervisors about the meaning and the use of language switching in therapeutic practice. Existing research in this area can be developed further to provide a framework that could benefit practitioners in the systemic field. Practitioner points Language switching was viewed as an invaluable skill by therapists, enabling them to shift between languages and understand their clients’ world in a rich way Multilingual family therapists can address issues of power and voice with families through the practice of language switching