S06E06 - Interpreting in the Perinatal Mental Health Setting with Shadow Toke

In this episode, Ineke Crezee, Professor of Translation and Interpreting at Auckland University of Technology, speaks with Shadow Toke. Shadow is a PhD candidate at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne, as well as a S’gaw Karen interpreter and researcher. She is passionate about ensuring respectful maternity care for women from migrant and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Topics Discussed:

• Lack of perceived importance of mental health in S'gaw Karen-speaking communities
• Lack of conceptual understanding of mental health and limited vocabulary available in S'gaw Karen
• The importance of health providers using appropriate words, so women do not feel that they are “crazy”, as this would worsen their mental health
• The role of interpreters in supporting women to access the care and support they need when they may not necessarily recognise it themselves
• The importance of selfcare for interpreters
  
  Whilst the podcast specifically references the S’gaw Karen communities in Australia, many of the points covered may also apply to other communities and languages. The lack of specific (mental) health vocabulary also holds true for interpreters working with other refugee languages, pacific languages, or signed languages.