Vicarious Trauma and Professional Interpreters
Presenter: Ludmila Golovine
Cost: $15 CHIA Members / $25 Non-Members
CEUs
CCHI: 1.5 (Program ID #05747)
IMIA: .15 (Program ID #18-1270)
RID: This webinar is pre-approved for RID credit (via PINRA). There is an additional $10 cost for this, which the attendee will pay directly to NorCRID. Email norcridcmp@gmail.com for pre-approval.
Description
Language professionals working in healthcare, in court, in jail, with refugees, with child protective services, with victims of abuse, in war zones, or interpreting during an intense encounter most likely experienced high levels of stress, suffered vicarious trauma, or felt vulnerable during the course of their everyday work.
Vicarious trauma has been identified as something that affects the performance and wellbeing of interpreters by their experiencing or internalizing someone else’s trauma. Research has confirmed that interpreters are vulnerable to vicarious trauma, burnouts, compassion fatigue, or secondary stress as a result of repeatedly interpreting various traumatic information and experiences. Not only do interpreters witness the trauma, but channeling the trauma can also affect their perceptions of the world around them and result in anxiety, depression, and other serious mental health issues.
First formally brought into the light during the 2001 International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC), interpretation was subsequently placed in the category of high-stress professions, with consequences ranging from burnout to vicarious trauma, leading to significant performance impediments. The study that triggered this awareness investigated four sets of parameters: psychological, physiological, physical, and performance, as well as the interactions between them.
Drawing from over 25 years of experience in a professional services industry, Ludmila “Mila” Golovine, Founder, President & CEO of MasterWord, a Language Services Provider agency, and an interpreter herself, will speak on the subject of vicarious traumatization not from a scientific but from an insider’s point of view - as a representative of a profession that is vulnerable to this type of trauma. Participants will be provided with real-life applications and tools that can help identify and examine triggers leading to vicarious trauma impacting the wellbeing and performance of service professionals, as well as learn practical steps to prevent and/or mitigate the effects of vicarious trauma before, during and after of the patient (client) – provider interactions.
Learning Objectives
* Define vicarious trauma and articulate why those working in healthcare and social services settings are at greater risk for vicarious trauma
* Identify the potential impact of vicarious trauma on work performance and quality of life
* Articulate the role of awareness, balance, and healthy coping strategies in effective self-care
* Develop a network of support
Bio
Ludmila Golovine, President/CEO of MasterWord Services, Inc., a global language solutions company whose mission is to Connect People Across Language and Culture is an embodiment of Golovine’s commitment to doing business with heart. An adherent to meditation practice, Golovine integrates mindfulness trainings throughout MasterWord’s operations. As a professional interpreter, Golovine knows first-hand how interpreting, especially in the healthcare, social services, education and legal arenas, may present challenges such as compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. She works tirelessly to help promote health and wellness to those in the language services industry to decrease burnout and increase overall longevity in this profession.
