2017 Mental Health Interpreter Workshop

The Centre of Deaf Education & Accessibility Forum (CDEAF) invites ASL interpreters interested in mental health interpreting to join us at King’s University College Friday June 2 – 4, 2017 for our second Mental Health Interpreter Workshop (MHIW).  We will be offering Level 1 and Level 2 knowledge-based seminars and presentations.  Please note that Level 2 is reserved for interpreters who have completed Level 1 or an equivalency.

We are excited this year to have Dr. Debra Russell join us from Calgary to share her experience as President of WASLI and as an Interpreter Educator.  Karen Malcolm from Vancouver has produced a DVD specifically for us on “Applying DC-S to Decision Making in Healthcare Settings”.  Dr. Cathy Chovaz (CDEAF Director) is going to lead us on a voyage of Lived Experience of the  Deaf (LED) where she will describe how the bumps and barriers in the paths some Deaf people have travelled may contribute to a collection of mental health symptoms specific to their culture.  Angela Core will lead our Interpreter Chats and we have many more guests lined up!  We will learn to apply techniques such as DC-S and Cognitive Rehearsal to help us prepare for complex encounters with consumers and to practice using those techniques in small groups.  Presentation topics will include vicarious trauma, psychopharmacology, psychopathology, complex situations and more.  Discussions on Interpreting as a Practice Profession and how that may affect our own mental wellbeing will be facilitated by community interpreters.
Level 1 and Level 2 training sessions will occur simultaneously with opportunities for sharing knowledge, experience and establishing connections throughout the three days.

View the schedule of sessions for both Levels 1 and 2. Some sessions will bring both groups together for better discussions and networking!