Patient and clinician experiences of language barriers in Qatar's multilingual public mental health care: a qualitative study

Purpose: Effective communication is central to mental health care, yet language barriers in multilingual settings can compromise assessment, treatment, and therapeutic relationships. Qatar’s Mental Health Service (MHS) at Hamad Medical Corporation serves a largely Arab patient population, while many clinicians use English as their primary working language. This study aims to examine how language barriers affect care delivery and the experiences of patients and clinicians within MHS. Method: This qualitative study adopted facet methodology, generating data through semi-structured interviews with psychiatrists, psychologists, and patients, onsite non-participant observations, and institutional archives. Data were analyzed using practical thematic analysis guided by interpretive description. Results: Findings indicate limited systematic language assistance and reliance on ad hoc interpreters, a practice that diverges from institutional policy. Clinicians described how inadequate interpretation compromised assessment accuracy, patient safety, and therapeutic relationship, and generated emotional strain and reduced professional efficacy. Patients described difficulty articulating their concerns in English and viewed language-concordant care as central to protecting privacy and emotional safety. Participants across both groups called for professional interpreters, language-concordant care, staff language training, and AI-assisted interpreting tools as potential improvements. Conclusions: Language barriers represent a central challenge in public mental health care in Qatar, particularly where ad hoc interpreting becomes routine. More structured, context-sensitive language support is needed in multilingual mental health settings.