{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,5]],"date-time":"2026-09-05T11:15:44Z","timestamp":1788606944421,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A substantial number of people with mental disorders do not speak the language of their healthcare provider well enough to participate in a full diagnostic procedure or to conduct a cultural formulation interview. Five main strategies are used to overcome language discordance and provide multilingual mental healthcare: simplified direct communication, digital translation tools, multilingual materials, multilingual clinicians, and interpreters. Each has value, but each also has limitations. Informal interpreting by relatives, children, or untrained staff raises substantial ethical, clinical, and organizational concerns. Professional interpreting represents the preferred standard, yet access remains inconsistent in many health systems. This Perspective argues that multilingual communication should be treated as a core component of professional mental health care rather than as an exceptional or improvised accommodation. Therefore, mental health care services require multilevel action on individual, institutional and systemic levels to improve the quality of communication when patient and healthcare provider do not share the same language. The \u201cHamburg Declaration for Multilingual Healthcare\u201d provides actionable guidance also for health professionals, health care management and healthcare users. Strengthening multilingual communication is not merely a technical improvement but a matter of clinical quality, patient safety, and health equity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1876785","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:46:48Z","timestamp":1787118408000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Multilingualism in mental health care \u2013 a long way to professionalism"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Mike","family":"M\u00f6sko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Human Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal","place":["Stendal, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","first-page":"7","article-title":"Sprachenvielfalt\u2013fakten und kontroversen","volume":"5","author":"Gogolin","year":"2012","journal-title":"Z Fr Grundschulforschung"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1353\/scd.2013.0018","article-title":"Language policy and multilingual identity in Sweden","volume":"85","author":"Sundberg","year":"2013","journal-title":"Scandinavian Stud"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1257\/aeri.20220386","article-title":"The impact of host language proficiency on migrants\u2019 employment outcomes","volume":"5","author":"Schmid","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am Econ Rev Insights"},{"key":"B4","first-page":"1","article-title":"Migranten investieren in Sprache und Bildung","volume":"21","author":"Liebau","year":"2014","journal-title":"IAB-Kurzbericht"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00103-012-1544-x","article-title":"Doctor-patient interaction: dealing with difficult situations","volume":"55","author":"Mehnert","year":"2012","journal-title":"Bundesgesundheitsbl Gesundheitsforsch Gesundheitsschutz"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnurstu.2015.03.012","article-title":"Language barriers and patient safety risks in hospital care: a mixed methods study","volume":"54","author":"van Rosse","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int J Nurs Stud"},{"key":"B7","article-title":"Multilingualism in outpatient mental health care services in Germany","author":"M\u00f6sko","year":"2018"},{"key":"B8","first-page":"66","article-title":"Factors affecting the success of mediated medical interviews in South Africa","volume":"20","author":"Penn","year":"2007","journal-title":"Curr Allergy Clin Immunol"},{"key":"B9","article-title":"Language as a barrier to care for Xhosa-speaking patients at a South African paediatric teaching hospital","volume":"96","author":"Levin","year":"2006","journal-title":"S Afr Med J"},{"key":"B10","volume-title":"Romanian Immigrant Integration Index\/Indexul Integr\u0103rii Imigrantilor Din Rom\u00e2nia","author":"Co\u0219ciug","year":"2017"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.healthpol.2023.104949","article-title":"Communication in refugee and migrant mental healthcare: a systematic rapid review on the needs, barriers and strategies of seekers and providers of mental health services","volume":"139","author":"Krystallidou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Health Policy"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"340","DOI":"10.1186\/s12939-025-02718-6","article-title":"Building trust and relationship across language barriers: a qualitative study of interpreter-mediated psychotherapy with therapists, interpreters and patients","volume":"24","author":"Top\u00e7u","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Equity Health"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2011.11.031","article-title":"Effects of length of stay and language proficiency on health care experiences among immigrants in Canada and the United States","volume":"74","author":"Lebrun","year":"2012","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0029-1220345","article-title":"Ist Patientenzufriedenheit in der station\u00e4ren Depressionsbehandlung von der Qualit\u00e4t sprachlicher Deutschkenntnisse abh\u00e4ngig","volume":"36","author":"Bermejo","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychiatr Prax"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1186\/s12992-016-0187-3","article-title":"The mental health and wellbeing of first generation migrants: a systematic-narrative review of reviews","volume":"12","author":"Close","year":"2016","journal-title":"Global Health"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1186\/s13690-025-01543-1","article-title":"Usability of technological tools to overcome language barriers in healthcare: a scoping review","volume":"83","author":"Kreienbrinck","year":"2025","journal-title":"Arch Public Health"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.48550\/arxiv.2402.04023","article-title":"Google Translate error analysis for mental healthcare information: evaluating accuracy, comprehensibility, and implications for multilingual healthcare communication","author":"Delfani","year":"2024","journal-title":"arXiv.org"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/pra2.1299","article-title":"Can I trust this chatbot? Assessing user privacy in AI-healthcare chatbot applications","volume-title":"Arxiv Preprint","author":"Yener","year":"2025"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.healthpol.2025.105453","article-title":"Communication difficulties and strategies in migrant mental healthcare: a European survey of health and social care professionals","volume":"162","author":"Hieke","year":"2025","journal-title":"Health Policy"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1186\/s12939-026-02821-2","article-title":"Exploring the use of translation technologies to overcome language barriers in mental healthcare: a qualitative cross-country study","volume":"25","author":"Kreienbrinck","year":"2026","journal-title":"Int J For Equity Health"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2016-012008","article-title":"Effects of culture-sensitive adaptation of patient information material on usefulness in migrants: a multicentre, blinded randomised controlled trial","volume":"6","author":"H\u00f6lzel","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmh.2025.100358","article-title":"Systematic meta-review on migrant healthcare access: language barriers and the role of translation","volume":"2","author":"D\u00edaz-Mill\u00f3n","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Migration Health"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jradnu.2007.09.002","article-title":"Overview of the advantages and disadvantages of professional and child interpreters for limited English proficiency patients","volume":"26","author":"Giordano","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Radiol Nurs"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11606-007-0344-8","article-title":"Assessing dual-role staff-interpreter linguistic competency in an integrated healthcare system","volume":"22","author":"Moreno","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Gen Intern Med"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1239","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-024-11722-5","article-title":"The doctor doesn\u2019t understand Xhosa and the service user doesn\u2019t understand English: exploring the role of security guards acting as informal interpreters in psychiatric care in South Africa","volume":"24","author":"Hanft-Robert","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1071\/ah16195","article-title":"Patient satisfaction of telephone or video interpreter services compared with in-person services: a systematic review","volume":"42","author":"Joseph","year":"2018","journal-title":"Aust Health Rev"},{"key":"B27","volume-title":"Quality standards and minimum requirements for the qualification of interpreters in social work settings in Germany","author":"Breitsprecher","year":"2020"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1570","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-18988-8","article-title":"Community interpreting in Germany: results of a nationwide cross-sectional study among interpreters","volume":"24","author":"Hanft-Robert","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pcl.2019.02.012","article-title":"Overcoming communication barriers in refugee health care","volume":"66","author":"Clarke","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pediatr Clin North Am"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1075\/intp.00090.han","article-title":"Training service providers to work effectively with interpreters through educational videos: a qualitative study","volume":"25","author":"Hanft-Robert","year":"2023","journal-title":"Interpreting"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychiatry"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1876785\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:46:49Z","timestamp":1787118409000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1876785\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"references-count":30,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1876785"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1876785","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-0640"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-0640","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"article-number":"1876785"}}