Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

We report on a 40-year-old Kurdish patient, who was imprisoned for six years for political reasons. The patient suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid chronic pain. For a better pain management the patient was treated initially using biofeedback therapy. The intervention showed good effects on pain. Medical history, diagnosis, treatment plan and course of therapy are described.

To examine published models of health care interpretation and associated roles, expectations, and outcomes. A literature search was conducted using the key words interpreter/translator, communication, and role and their combinations in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PSYNDEXPlus. References mentioned in articles identified with these search terms were then checked by hand in corresponding publications and books. We excluded articles if they were dealing with concepts of interpretation, role definitions, etc., without presenting any empirical evidence to support their recommendations. Thirty-four of 1,121 references that investigated the role of professional interpreters in health care were found to meet inclusion criteria. Out of 34 articles, only 2 recommend strict adherence to the conduit model in which interpreters are faithfully and exclusively transmitting information; the interpreter's role is in 32 studies defined in broader terms as the role of a cultural broker (n = 18), a manager or clarifier (n = 22), a patient advocate (n = 13), or a mediator (n = 6). There are no commonly accepted understandings of the interpreters' role; empirical data are lacking. The interpreter's function must be explicitly clarified before a health care encounter is conducted. There should be an agreement of some basic rules.