{"id":7463,"date":"2020-02-13T16:40:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T21:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/?p=7463"},"modified":"2020-02-13T16:28:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T21:28:38","slug":"vicarious-trauma-and-interpreters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/ID\/vicarious-trauma-and-interpreters\/","title":{"rendered":"Vicarious trauma and interpreters"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cristina Helmerichs<\/h4>\n

\"[hand]\"The first time I heard of interpreters experiencing vicarious trauma was in 2000. First it was mentioned in relation to the interpreters working during a trial related to the Balkan Wars at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. But the idea was quickly expanded to include all interpreters working directly with victims of crime and\/or medical patients. Simultaneously, the sign language community was becoming acutely aware of the impact of vicarious trauma on our sign-language colleagues.<\/p>\n

Generally, vicarious trauma is understood to be the emotional residue of exposure that counselors have from working with people as they hear trauma stories and become witnesses to the pain, fear, and terror that trauma survivors have endured. It is important not to confuse vicarious trauma with \u201cburnout\u201d [www.counseling.org<\/a>]. Interpreters may be more at risk because they restate the facts related in first person, especially when this is combined with a phenomenon called \u201creceptor fatigue\u201d which is \u201ca biological response to overstimulation of one of the senses\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below, you will find a listing of some of the articles, books, trainings and materials available on the subject. This is not a complete or exhaustive review of what is available, but it seeks to provide a clear sampling of what is being written and studied.<\/p>\n

A sample of the materials produced by the sign-language and ASL community include:<\/h3>\n

Harvey, Michael A. \u201cShielding yourself from the perils of empathy: The case of sign language interpreters.\u201d Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education,<\/em> Volume 8 (2003) Issue 2: 207-213 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/deafed\/eng004<\/a><\/p>\n

Lai, Miranda, Georgina Heydon, Sedat Mulayim. CIT. \u201cVicarious trauma among interpreters.\u201d International Journal of Interpreter EducationTM <\/sup><\/em>Volume 7(1) (2015)\u00a0https:\/\/www.cit-asl.org\/new\/vicarious-trauma-among-interpreters-7-1\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Macdonald, Jami L. \u201cVicarious trauma as applied to the professional sign language interpreter.\u201d Montview Liberty University. Journal of Undergraduate Research<\/em>, Volume 1 (2015), Issue 1, Article 6\u00a0https:\/\/digitalcommons.liberty.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=montview<\/a><\/p>\n

Andert, Olivia L., Allison P. Trites. \u201cVicarious Trauma Among Sign Language Interpreters: A Pilot Study.\u201d Northeastern University (2014)\u00a0Vicarious_Trauma_Among_Sign_Language_Interpreters.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Lor, Mailee. \u201cEffects of Client Trauma on Interpreters: An Exploratory Study.\u201d St. Catherine University (2012)\u00a0https:\/\/sophia.stkate.edu\/msw_papers\/53\/<\/a><\/p>\n

In the medical interpreting world, vicarious trauma has also become a subject of concern. Some of the trainings and articles available in this field are:<\/h3>\n

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) Trainers Webinar that is free for members or available for purchase by non-members for $30. Links to the webinar and slides<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A presentation by Ludmila Golovine on this topic is available as a free webinar on CHIA’s YouTube channel \u201cVicarious Trauma and Professional Interpreters\u201d (2018)\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nBNzlxjN0xg<\/a><\/p>\n

Knodel, Rebekah K. \u201cCoping with Vicarious Trauma in Mental Health Interpreting.\u201d Journal of Interpretation<\/em>. Volume 26 (2018)\u00a0https:\/\/digitalcommons.unf.edu\/joi\/vol26\/iss1\/2\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Marjory Bancroft, a specialist in this field, authored a 40-hour curriculum called Voices of Love and began publishing a blog in 2015 under the same name; unfortunately, that project is not funded and not currently active.<\/p>\n

There is, however, a 30-hour curriculum called Breaking Silence – a training for interpreters working in victim services that has a lot of content for addressing both interpreting for trauma and managing its effects. A set of materials by Marjory A. Bancroft, Katharine Allen, Carola E. Green, and Lois M. Feuerle), is available FREE for download from Ayuda:<\/p>\n

Training manual: \u00a0https:\/\/ayuda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Breaking-Silence-Training-Manual-1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Workbook: https:\/\/ayuda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/156617_Ayuda_Workbook_BreakingSilence-WEB.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Glossary: https:\/\/ayuda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/156617_Ayuda_Glossary_BreakingSilence-WEB.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Other publications of note from within the interpreting world include:<\/h3>\n

In 2017 the National Center for State Courts published a listing of resources regarding vicarious trauma<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Justine Ndongo-Keller, \u201cVicarious trauma and stress management.\u201d Chapter 21 of the The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting<\/em>, ed. Holly Mikkelson, Ren\u00e9e Jourdenais. (2015)<\/p>\n

Swain, Martyn. \u201cReliving the nightmares of others.\u201d AIIC (2019)\u00a0https:\/\/aiic.net\/page\/8671\/reliving-the-nightmares-of-others\/lang\/1<\/a>\u00a0 (2018)<\/p>\n

Articles of interest published in other scientific and general interest journals include:<\/h3>\n

Vigor, Jana. \u201cVicarious trauma and the professional interpreter.\u201d The Trauma and Mental Health Report<\/em> (January 2012), reprinted by Psychology Today (2013)\u00a0https:\/\/trauma.blog.yorku.ca\/2012\/01\/vicarious-trauma-and-the-professional-interpreter\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Kindermann D., Schmid C., Derreza-Greeven C., Huhn D., Kohl R.M., Junee F., Schleyer M., Daniels J.K., Ditzen B., Herzon W., and Mikendei C. \u201cPrevalence of and Risk Factors for Secondary Traumatization in Interpreters for Refugees:\u00a0 A cross-Sectional Study.\u201d (Abstract) Psychopathology<\/em>. (2017;50:262-272)\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1159\/000477670<\/a><\/p>\n

Darroch, Emma, Raymond Dempsey. \u201cInterpreters\u2019 Experiences of Transferential Dynamics, Vicarious Traumatisation, and Their Need for Support and Supervision: A Systematic Literature Review.\u201d The European Journal of Counselling Psychology<\/em> Volume 4, No. 2 (2016)\u00a0https:\/\/ejcop.psychopen.eu\/article\/view\/76\/html<\/a><\/p>\n

Splevins KA, Cohen K, Joseph S., Murray C., Bowley J. \u201cVicarious post traumatic growth among interpreters.\u201d Published on Sage Journals<\/em>. (2010)\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1049732310377457<\/a><\/p>\n

Mehus, Christopher J., Becher, Emily H. \u201cSecondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in a sample of spoken-language interpreters.\u201d \u00a0Traumatology. Volume 22(4): 249-254. (2016)\u00a0https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/trm0000023<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of caring.\u201d A report by NIMDZI<\/em>, a short version of which is available at: \u00a0https:\/\/www.nimdzi.com\/the-cost-of-caring-vicarious-trauma-in-interpreters\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Vicarious trauma constitutes an area where there is still much opportunity for research and study. Such further research, as well as raising awareness of the issues, can help foster greater public understanding and appreciation of the profession and may help enable interpreters to advocate with regard to their working conditions and even fair compensation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cristina Helmerichs is a member of the ATA Interpreter Division leadership council<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image of hands by 6155856<\/a> from Pixabay<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cristina Helmerichs The first time I heard of interpreters experiencing vicarious trauma was in 2000. First it was mentioned in relation to the interpreters working during a trial related to the Balkan Wars at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. 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