Translation Project

Part of what makes Psychology Tools special is our maintenance of a multi-lingual library of therapy resources. Some have been translated by our user-base of mental health professionals, and others by professional translators. To date, we have over 3750 resources available in 70+ languages, and are always looking to expand the collection.

If you are a qualified mental health professional who would like to translate resources into your native language then we would love to hear from you. We offer an incentive scheme to recognize your work. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to learn more. We will ask for confirmation of your professional qualifications, and will suggest which resources are most-requested in your language.

Translations guidelines

Our standard translation procedure is to ask translators to complete ‘translation templates’ which can be downloaded below. The text is split into chunks which enables us to retain the clarity of formatted documents. As far as is possible, we aim to follow the World Health Organization guidelines for the forward translation of instruments, namely:

• The aim of this process is to achieve different language versions of the English instrument that are conceptually equivalent in each of the target countries/cultures … the instrument should be equally natural and acceptable and should practically perform in the same way. The focus is on cross-cultural and conceptual, rather than on linguistic/literal equivalence.

• One translator, preferably a health professional, familiar with terminology of the area covered by the instrument and with interview skills should be given this task. The translator should be knowledgeable of the English-speaking culture but his/her mother tongue should be the primary language of the target culture.

• Translators should always aim at the conceptual equivalent of a word or phrase, not a word-for-word translation, i.e. not a literal translation. They should consider the definition of the original term and attempt to translate it in the most relevant way.

• Translators should strive to be simple, clear and concise in formulating a question. Fewer words are better. Long sentences with many clauses should be avoided.

• (For patient-focused resources) The target language should aim for the most common audience. Translators should avoid addressing professional audiences such as those in medicine or any other professional group. They should consider the typical respondent for the instrument being translated and what the respondent will understand when s/he hears the question.

Once most tools for a particular language have been translated we shift our focus to improving the quality of each translation via a process of back-translation by other subject matter experts.