Three Myths that Stop Psychologists from Working in English.
Let’s question and reframe three common beliefs holding therapists back from taking on English-speaking patients.
It’s no secret that mental health professionals have a huge responsibility towards their patients. Because of this, they must keep high standards, and work hard to provide the best possible level of care.
The only problem?
Sometimes, they can be so hard on themselves that it actually gets in the way of them becoming confident English-speaking therapists.
In this week’s blog post, I’ll challenge three of the most widespread myths that might be holding you back. I hope that by doing so, I can help you get closer to working with English-speaking patients.
My English needs to be absolutely perfect before I start working with patients.
I’ve thought long and hard about what people consider to be “perfect” English. And I’ve realized it’s not the most appropriate English for therapy sessions.
Because “perfect” language skills are something we often desire to serve our interests, not those of our patients.
In my opinion, “perfect” English is the kind of English used by skilled orators like university lecturers, politicians, classical theatre actors or lawyers in a courtroom.
Barack Obama was a great example of this. During his time as president, he frequently gave eloquent, faultless speeches. He never hesitated, mumbled or made any mistakes. But his English needed to be perfect to transmit an image of absolute power, competence, and confidence. In a way, his English was like an armour. It didn’t reveal much about his true self.
English for a therapy session is different. Of course, it means speaking skillfully, consciously, and with precision. But let’s see it from a patient’s perspective.
If a therapist spent the sessions giving you long, “perfect” speeches that have clearly been rehearsed, you would likely feel uncomfortable. You might feel they are inauthentic, inaccessible, or hiding something. Or worse- they only consider you as a mirror to reflect back their greatness.
When we focus excessively on how perfect our English is as therapists, it may come from a place of proving our self-worth to ourselves, rather than stepping outside of ourselves to help others. We might lose sight of what matters most; building an authentic alliance with our clients.
In the end, as uncomfortable as it might sometimes be, therapy is an exchange between two humans who are “works in progress”. And this means there are a few hesitations, misunderstandings, and mistakes.
2. I need a “good British accent” to work with patients in English.
It’s not your fault for believing this, but this idea needs to change now. The idea that some accents are good, and others are bad is much more damaging than we might first believe. It’s like thinking some social classes, skin tones and religions are good, and some are bad.
In my classroom, there is no such thing as a good or a bad accent. There are only correct and incorrect forms of pronunciation.
I had the privilege of living in Dubai until I was 18 years old. My school (Emirates International School Jumeirah) had the student body with the largest number of nationalities in the entire country.
So, during my time there, I met dozens of bilingual or trilingual English speakers and was exposed to all kinds of accents. I learned from a young age that someone with an Indian, Egyptian, or Korean accent could sometimes be a more proficient English speaker than someone with a British or Australian accent.
An accent is a beautiful sign of your unique background and story, not something to ever be ashamed of.
3. I need to understand every single word my clients use.
Sooner or later, your clients will probably use a word you don’t know.
Sometimes, you’ll be able to guess its meaning from the context. At other times, you won’t understand, but you’ll let it go because there are other, more pressing things to focus on. But there are times you’ll have to be transparent and ask your patients to clarify.
That’s just the way communication works. In fact, it probably happens to you in your first language, and you don’t think twice about it.
Why’s that? When we work in our own language, we don’t question our language skills. So, when language issues happen, we attribute them to external factors: maybe we didn’t understand a word because it’s not common or the client mispronounced it. But when we work in another language, we often attribute issues to internal factors: we think our level isn’t good enough, and that’s why we don’t know the word.
Whatever the reason is, it’s important to anticipate that this will happen, and think about how we will deal with this when it does.
In conclusion, of course, you must keep high standards when working with any clients, whether they are English-speaking or not.
However, it’s important to be mindful of these standards. Don’t let them prevent you from showing up in therapy sessions as your own authentically imperfect human self.
Let’s recognize our limitations and actively work to overcome them to provide the best possible care to English-speaking patients.
Make 2024 the year you provide therapy in English. To get started, book your free 60-minute consultation with me. We’ll discuss your level, needs and objectives.
Otherwise, if you want more specialized tips on how to provide therapy in English, feel free to join my free email list.
