ABSTRACT
Effective communication is an imperative component of mental health service delivery. As the mental health field continues to become more aware of the increasingly diverse nature of the population, researchers and practitioners have directed more attention to the many elements of culture that impact education, prevention, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Language represents a major aspect of culture and identity that greatly impacts service delivery. This paper argues that while back-translation may provide an efficient and easily-implemented strategy for translation; there remains a need to devote more attention and research to the usefulness and effectiveness of back-translation and other translation methodologies in the mental health arena.
