Vicarious Trauma & Self-Care mini-course

The modules of this mini-course on vicarious trauma & self-care have been extracted from our Interpreting for Victims of Crime course.

Vicarious Trauma has not been given much attention nor have interpreters been provided training in it in recent years, when there is a true and crucial need for it. Being trauma-informed as an interpreter is becoming increasingly more important for the work we do, especially when we are interpreting in emotionally-charged settings.

In the nature of our profession, we can be called to work in settings such as police stations, prisons, mental health institutions, to name a few.

When you learn about the cognitive process of interpreting, it will be easier to understand how interpreters can become stressed, burned out, get PTSD and ultimately even have vicarious trauma.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Understand the cognitive process of interpreting
• Understand the meaning of stress, compassion fatigue (burnout), trauma, PTSD, and vicarious trauma
• Understand the meaning of empathy and how an interpreter can be traumatised
• Learn about interpreter resilience and post-traumatic growth
• Learn techniques to reduce stress before, during and after an assignment (briefing and debriefing)
• Learn to administer self-care and create a wellness plan
• Create a Strengths and Thoughts Diary
• Learn how to control and regulate your emotions.