In a book chapter: Ponzio, A. (1990) Bachtinian Alterity and the Search of Identity in Europe Today (p. 217-227), in Robert F. Barsky and Michael Holquist (Eds) Bakhtin and Otherness. Social Discourse, Vol 3 (1&2), I read some interesting quotes about language that relate to my bilingual identity as therapist, researcher and writer and that of some of my participants. Here are some i may use in my thesis: … Read more »

Most of my research participants talk, one way or another, about the issue of practising therapy in a 2nd language and its implications, both challenging and positive, something that appears to be one of the major findings in my research. there seems to be litearture on the matter (although most of it is focused on the client’s perspective again), but, i found this dissertation on the web that is interesting cause it talks about it from the therapist’s perspective. It is conducted in the US with spanish speaking therapists, available online (click here). Reference is Mount, C.D. (2007) Therapists’ perceived influence of language: 2nd language spanish-speaking therapists with native spanish-speaking clients. Bringham Young University: MSc Thesis.

on p. 3 the author confirms that ‘experiences of the bilingual client in therapy have received attention in the literature but accounts of the experience of the bilingual therapist are strikingly sparse’ . I also know that there is literature in the psychoanalyti tradition, also in relation to the matter in terms of transference and counter-transference but often i can’t easily access the journals due to subscription, will look on that