2026 Summit for Mental Health Interpreting: Agenda
A1 | The 2026 Psychiatric Pipeline: Innovation, Insurance, and the Fight for Access
We are living through a massive paradigm shift in mental health pharmacology. The emergence of rapid-acting, precision therapies—including the arrival of psychedelic-derived treatments in Phase 3 trials and AI-guided genetic prescribing—promises a departure from traditional daily SSRIs. Yet, as clinical science accelerates, the administrative framework is hitting the brakes.
This session breaks down the critical realities of the 2026 mental health landscape. We will explore cutting-edge clinical pipelines, analyze the fallout of recent federal policy shifts regarding mental health parity regulations, and dissect the growing insurance hurdles patients and providers face—from tightening prior authorizations to rising out-of-pocket costs. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to navigate insurance barriers and advocate for patient access to next-generation care.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify three major breakthroughs in the 2026 psychiatric drug pipeline, focusing on how rapid-acting therapies differ from traditional medications.
- Navigate the current regulatory and insurance environment, including the impact of recent federal policy shifts on mental health parity and out-of-pocket costs.
- Apply concrete advocacy strategies to overcome administrative hurdles like tightening prior authorizations and complex insurance appeals.
A2 | Mental Health Interpreting Fish Bowl: Discussing Teaming and Trust
In the complex world of mental health interpreting, effective communication and trust are paramount. The “Fish Bowl” approach serves as a dynamic platform for interpreters, mental health professionals, and patients to engage in open dialogue about the challenges and successes of interpreting in this unique field. This discussion emphasizes the critical role of teamwork and trust within the interpreting process, ultimately enhancing patient care and outcomes.
During this session, Trenton and Jeremy will lead mock scenarios that allow us to explore various decisions and processes influenced by teamwork dynamics within different situational contexts. Participants will have the opportunity to analyze and discuss the implications of these scenarios, including how their respective biases may exacerbate situations that can be oppressive toward some individuals. Ultimately, the goal is to foster a deeper understanding of how effective collaboration can improve interpreting practices and patient experiences.
Join us in this engaging conversation as we work together to identify strategies for building trust and enhancing teamwork in mental health interpreting.
Participants will be able to:
- List a minimum of three ways teamwork dynamics can impact mental health interpreting scenarios.
- Identify a minimum of three strategies to build trust and enhance collaboration in mental health interpreting.
- Describe a minimum of two ways that facilitated dialogue can be used to elicit diverse perspectives and address power, privilege and oppression.
B1 | When the Conversation Is About Suicide: What Interpreters Need to Know
Interpreters are increasingly called to facilitate conversations involving suicide risk, crisis intervention, calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, emergency mental health care, suicide attempts, and support for individuals and communities impacted by suicide loss. This workshop explores the continuum of suicide-related interpreting in prevention, intervention, and postvention. Participants will explore current suicide statistics, culturally and linguistically appropriate ASL and English terminology, suicide intervention strategies, Deaf-specific risk and protective factors, suicide screening and assessment interpretation, interpreting for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and best practices for working with suicide attempt and loss survivors.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify current suicide trends, Deaf-specific risk and protective factors, and common contexts in which interpreters encounter suicide-related discussions.
- Analyze linguistic and ethical considerations when interpreting suicide screenings, assessments, crisis interventions, and 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline interactions.
- Apply best practices for interpreting across the continuum of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, including working with suicide attempt and loss survivors
B2 | From Conflict to Clarity: Moving Beyond the “Battlefield” During Mental Health Interpreting
This conversation is designed to equip you with the tools necessary to navigate challenging mental health interpreting encounters with grace and understanding, rather than engaging in destructive battles with others or within yourself.
Discover how to identify the root causes of conflict, develop effective communication strategies, and cultivate self-awareness through insightful discussions and diverse perspectives. This exploration will empower you to build stronger relationships, cultivate understanding, and transform potential conflicts into opportunities for growth and connection.
Examining different perspectives on interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts can lead to better decision-making and minimize the negative impact on your well-being, both during and after mental health interpreting assignments.
Participants will be able to:
- List a minimum of three root causes of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts
- Describe a minimum of three effective communication strategies for conflict resolution
- Identify a minimum of two approaches to cultivate self-awareness for managing conflict
C1 | Whose Symptom Is It? An Exploratory Discussion on Psychiatric Meaning-Making for Interpreters
Bringing both doctoral coursework and a clinical background as a Deaf licensed social worker to this topic, presenter David “DT” Bruno has witnessed firsthand how psychiatric symptom language can get lost in the space between English and ASL, with real consequences for a client’s diagnosis and credibility. Concepts like “hearing voices” or “feeling down” are built on English-based metaphors and hearing clinical norms that often fail to map cleanly onto ASL’s visual-spatial structure. When interpreted literally, they can distort meaning, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis, over-pathologization, or diminished credibility for Deaf clients. This session will walk through real, de-identified clinical vignettes illustrating these mismatches in practice. It draws on an epistemic injustice framework (the study of how people can be unfairly disbelieved or misunderstood specifically because of who they are) to name what’s happening in these moments, and is grounded in the reality that interpreters are already active participants in these encounters rather than neutral conduits. This session is about the full team: interpreter, psychiatrist, and Deaf professional alike, and how each role can catch a meaning mismatch before it becomes a diagnostic one. As a PhD social work student exploring this area, I’m offering this as a starting point for dialogue grounded in a combination of lived clinical experience (mine and the room’s) alongside the existing literature, not a settled practice model, with the aim of reducing harm through better team collaboration.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify at least two ways that English-based psychiatric symptom language can create interpretive mismatches when rendered in ASL, and explain the clinical risk each mismatch carries (e.g., misdiagnosis, over-pathologization), using real clinical patterns as illustration.
- Explain how credibility gaps and interpretive gaps — concepts drawn from epistemic injustice theory — can affect how a Deaf client's symptoms are understood and believed in a psychiatric assessment.
- Describe practical strategies for team-based collaboration to flag and address potential meaning mismatches in real time, with the goal of reducing diagnostic harm through shared accountability rather than placing that burden on any single role.
C2 | Personality and the Interpreting Process
This presentation explores how personality dynamics shape communication in interpreted clinical interactions. Participants will learn to distinguish personality from mood and mental illness when considering adaptive communication styles. The session examines how an interpreter’s own personality influences encounters, offering strategies to build or navigate resistance.
Participants will be able to:
- Differentiate between traits and moods of mental health during an encounter.
- Develop calibration of communication and consider how to manage conflict or resistance.
- Evaluate how their own personality style impacts interpersonal dynamics.
D1 | Beyond the Scan: Interpreting the Brain's Story in Mental Health Imaging
This 2-hour workshop provides interpreters with a practical, narrative-based framework for understanding neuroimaging in mental health contexts. We will contextualize common imaging modalities (MRI, CT, PET) and the language clinicians and technicians use, then translate that context into interpretation strategies that preserve clinical intent, patient dignity, and ethical boundaries. Through brief case vignettes and interactive exercises, participants will learn to recognize when imaging findings matter to clinical decisions, how to render technical terminology accurately and accessibly, and how to manage communication challenges that arise during imaging appointments related to psychiatric care.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify and differentiate three common neuroimaging modalities used in mental health (MRI, CT, PET) and state one clinical purpose for each by the end of the session.
- Accurately define and translate five commonly used neuroimaging terms (for example: lesion, atrophy, edema, contrast enhancement, hypometabolism) into plain language suitable for patients within a simulated vignette.
- Recognize two ethical or cultural considerations that can influence imaging-related communication and describe one appropriate interpreter response for each.
D2 | Understanding Medication: Drugs Used for Common Mental Health Disorders
During this session, Dr. Walker will discuss the commonly prescribed medications for various types of psychiatric conditions. The presenter will give a brief explanation of how the medication works to provide participants with general knowledge of each category of medication.
Participants will be able to:
- Recognize common psychiatric conditions: Depression, Schizophrenia/Psychosis, Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Anxiety Disorders
- Identify commonly prescribed medications for common psychiatric conditions
- Highlight specific clinical pearls with regards to some medications
E1 | Bridge of Time: Deaf Caregivers and Care Receivers and the Dementia Team
This presentation will delve into the unique challenges and communication strategies involved when Deaf caregivers and care receivers interact with dementia care teams. We will explore real-world scenarios and best practices for interpreters to facilitate effective communication, ensuring person-centered care and support for all involved.
Participants will be able to:
- Recognize the specific communication barriers faced by Deaf individuals in dementia care.
- Examine ethical considerations for interpreters working with Deaf caregivers and care receivers.
- Apply effective interpreting strategies to enhance communication between Deaf individuals and dementia care teams.
E2 | Effective Communication: Mastering Native-Like Production & Role Shifting
This workshop will explore rarely discussed principles of ASL syntax that interpreters should be aware of and work to master, supported by specific, practical examples. The presenters will place a specific focus on linguistic features critical for mental and behavioral health encounters, such as accurately conveying language dysfluency, disorganized thought patterns, and the subtle use of Non-Manual Signals (NMS). They will also discuss best practices for role shifting that will help with effective interpretations.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify at least 3 ways to separate or group signs within a sentence.
- Explain the "label then acting" rule.
- Describe how eye gaze works for role shifting.
F1 | When Behavior Isn’t the Disorder
Distinguishing clinical pathology from linguistic factors remains a critical challenge in Deaf mental health. Drawing on longitudinal data from Schafer et al. (2026) in the Journal of the American Deafness & Rehabilitation Association (JADARA), this session provides a framework for differential diagnosis to help interpreters recognize when atypical behavior is not indicative of a psychiatric disorder. Participants will learn to distinguish among several factors. Grounded in these recent diagnostic trends, attendees will gain some insight necessary to reduce the pathologization of language and protect communication accuracy.
Participants will be able to:
- Differentiate between some of the linguistic markers and formal thought disorders associated with psychosis, utilizing the diagnostic frameworks highlighted by Schafer et al. (2026).
- Discuss how trauma responses may uniquely manifest in signed communication compared to primary mood disorders.
- Analyze behavioral and linguistic data to reduce the systemic pathologization of non-standard communication styles or core personality traits.
F2 | Effective Communication: Mastering Native-Like Production & Role Shifting
This workshop will explore rarely discussed principles of ASL syntax that interpreters should be aware of and work to master, supported by specific, practical examples. The presenters will place a specific focus on linguistic features critical for mental and behavioral health encounters, such as accurately conveying language dysfluency, disorganized thought patterns, and the subtle use of Non-Manual Signals (NMS). They will also discuss best practices for role shifting that will help with effective interpretations.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify at least 3 ways to separate or group signs within a sentence.
- Explain the "label then acting" rule.
- Describe how eye gaze works for role shifting.
G1 | Whose Symptom Is It? An Exploratory Discussion on Psychiatric Meaning-Making for Interpreters
Bringing both doctoral coursework and a clinical background as a Deaf licensed social worker to this topic, presenter David “DT” Bruno has witnessed firsthand how psychiatric symptom language can get lost in the space between English and ASL, with real consequences for a client’s diagnosis and credibility. Concepts like “hearing voices” or “feeling down” are built on English-based metaphors and hearing clinical norms that often fail to map cleanly onto ASL’s visual-spatial structure. When interpreted literally, they can distort meaning, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis, over-pathologization, or diminished credibility for Deaf clients. This session will walk through real, de-identified clinical vignettes illustrating these mismatches in practice. It draws on an epistemic injustice framework (the study of how people can be unfairly disbelieved or misunderstood specifically because of who they are) to name what’s happening in these moments, and is grounded in the reality that interpreters are already active participants in these encounters rather than neutral conduits. This session is about the full team: interpreter, psychiatrist, and Deaf professional alike, and how each role can catch a meaning mismatch before it becomes a diagnostic one. As a PhD social work student exploring this area, I’m offering this as a starting point for dialogue grounded in a combination of lived clinical experience (mine and the room’s) alongside the existing literature, not a settled practice model, with the aim of reducing harm through better team collaboration.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify at least two ways that English-based psychiatric symptom language can create interpretive mismatches when rendered in ASL, and explain the clinical risk each mismatch carries (e.g., misdiagnosis, over-pathologization), using real clinical patterns as illustration.
- Explain how credibility gaps and interpretive gaps — concepts drawn from epistemic injustice theory — can affect how a Deaf client's symptoms are understood and believed in a psychiatric assessment.
- Describe practical strategies for team-based collaboration to flag and address potential meaning mismatches in real time, with the goal of reducing diagnostic harm through shared accountability rather than placing that burden on any single role.
G2 | Effective Communication: Mastering Native-Like Production & Role Shifting
This workshop will explore rarely discussed principles of ASL syntax that interpreters should be aware of and work to master, supported by specific, practical examples. The presenters will place a specific focus on linguistic features critical for mental and behavioral health encounters, such as accurately conveying language dysfluency, disorganized thought patterns, and the subtle use of Non-Manual Signals (NMS). They will also discuss best practices for role shifting that will help with effective interpretations.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify at least 3 ways to separate or group signs within a sentence.
- Explain the "label then acting" rule.
- Describe how eye gaze works for role shifting.
H1 | Whose Symptom Is It? An Exploratory Discussion on Psychiatric Meaning-Making for Interpreters
Bringing both doctoral coursework and a clinical background as a Deaf licensed social worker to this topic, presenter David “DT” Bruno has witnessed firsthand how psychiatric symptom language can get lost in the space between English and ASL, with real consequences for a client’s diagnosis and credibility. Concepts like “hearing voices” or “feeling down” are built on English-based metaphors and hearing clinical norms that often fail to map cleanly onto ASL’s visual-spatial structure. When interpreted literally, they can distort meaning, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis, over-pathologization, or diminished credibility for Deaf clients. This session will walk through real, de-identified clinical vignettes illustrating these mismatches in practice. It draws on an epistemic injustice framework (the study of how people can be unfairly disbelieved or misunderstood specifically because of who they are) to name what’s happening in these moments, and is grounded in the reality that interpreters are already active participants in these encounters rather than neutral conduits. This session is about the full team: interpreter, psychiatrist, and Deaf professional alike, and how each role can catch a meaning mismatch before it becomes a diagnostic one. As a PhD social work student exploring this area, I’m offering this as a starting point for dialogue grounded in a combination of lived clinical experience (mine and the room’s) alongside the existing literature, not a settled practice model, with the aim of reducing harm through better team collaboration.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify at least two ways that English-based psychiatric symptom language can create interpretive mismatches when rendered in ASL, and explain the clinical risk each mismatch carries (e.g., misdiagnosis, over-pathologization), using real clinical patterns as illustration.
- Explain how credibility gaps and interpretive gaps — concepts drawn from epistemic injustice theory — can affect how a Deaf client's symptoms are understood and believed in a psychiatric assessment.
- Describe practical strategies for team-based collaboration to flag and address potential meaning mismatches in real time, with the goal of reducing diagnostic harm through shared accountability rather than placing that burden on any single role.
Conference Registration
Registration for the 2026 Summit for Mental Health Interpreting is now open.