(PS2-19) A Qualitative Examination of Yiddish-speaking Mental Health Clinicians' Training and Therapeutic Experiences

Abstract Text: Yiddish, once spoken by 13 million Jews before the Holocaust, now has around a million speakers worldwide, ranging from secular (i.e., participate in modern society and do not practice Judaism strictly) to Hasidic (i.e., Ultra-Orthodox) Jews. Despite the increasing number of Yiddish speakers, including monolingual Hasidic Jews, there is a lack of Yiddish-speaking mental health clinicians and no research on this subset of clinicians providing linguistically appropriate care or their use of evidence-based practices. Cultural barriers experienced by clients (e.g., mental health stigma) and clinicians (e.g., ethical dilemmas around clients' religious doubt) and their intersection with linguistic barriers also need to be investigated in the context of Yiddish-speaking services. This gap in research on Yiddish-speaking clinicians' training in and experiences delivering Yiddish mental health services highlights the need for community-based research to characterize current practices and needs. This phenomenological qualitative study explores Yiddish-speaking mental health clinicians’ experiences through the following questions: (1) What training supports do Yiddish-speaking clinicians receive to deliver services to clients in Yiddish? (2) What is the therapeutic experience of providing Yiddish services? (3) How do Yiddish-speaking clinicians conceptualize and deliver culturally sensitive care? The study procedures, materials, and interview guide were developed in consultation with Yiddish linguists, Hasidic Jewish community members, and interdisciplinary research experts in related areas. We will employ purposive and snowball sampling through both direct and indirect outreach (e.g., emails to clinicians and/or clinic leadership, posts on Yiddish and Jewish discussion forums or Facebook groups, flyers) to recruit mental health clinicians who provide services in Yiddish. Eligible clinicians who consent will complete a brief demographic survey and a 45-minute semi-structured qualitative interview. All materials and procedures will also be offered in Yiddish. Recruitment, data collection, and analysis are ongoing and iterative, with a timeline set to complete preliminary transcript coding by September 2025. The survey data will be analyzed using SPSS and qualitative data will be analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. This study provides a methodological framework for future mental health research involving Yiddish speakers, Hasidic Jews, and other linguistically and culturally marginalized groups. The preliminary findings will inform future work developing training and implementation support for Yiddish-speaking and other multilingual clinicians to deliver quality, culturally and linguistically responsive evidence-based care.