Interpreter perspectives on working with trauma patients: Challenges and recommendations to improve access to care.

Villalobos, Bianca T.; Orengo-Aguayo, Rosaura; Castellanos, Rebeca; Pastrana, Freddie A.; Stewart, Regan W.

doi:10.1037/pro0000404

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In terms of work-related challenges, vicarious trauma was commonly reported among the interpreters who participated in this study—many noted that they work closely with their clients who experience traumatic events in the medical setting. These findings complement prior research on the prevalence of vicarious trauma among interpreters and translators (Simms et al, 2021; Villalobos et al, 2021). Participants described strategic approaches to mitigate their risk of vicarious trauma, such as selectively choosing their unit within a hospital.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Compassion and Trauma: Occupational Health Experiences of Certified Medical Interpreters in Five U.S. States

Graves

Ross

González

et al. 2023

Workplace Health Saf

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Medical interpreters play a vital role in fostering understanding and ensuring safety and transparency in healthcare for patients with non-English language preference. Limited research describes work-related experiences of medical interpreters. The purpose of this research was to explore perceptions of occupational health and safety among medical interpreters. A structured, online survey was administered to all certified medical interpreters in Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, California, and Texas. Participants described occupational experiences as an interpreter via an open-ended question. Responses were coded using qualitative thematic analysis. Response text was reviewed, a codebook of descriptive themes developed, and data thematically coded and summarized. Of 981 potential participants, 199 responded (20.3% response rate). Four main themes were identified: Professionalism and Role, Work-Related Challenges, Approaches to Mitigate Vicarious Trauma, and The Rewarding Nature of the Job. Respondents described compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, intentional emotional distancing from clients, and loneliness. Respondents identified needs for workplace support to ensure professionalism and safeguard interpreter safety. Medical interpreters appreciate their work, yet face challenges, including compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. Employers and healthcare institutions should support the occupational and emotional needs of medical interpreters as a vital member of the healthcare team.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Compassion and Trauma: Occupational Health Experiences of Certified Medical Interpreters in Five U.S. States

Graves

Ross

González

et al. 2023

Workplace Health Saf

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“…Evaluators are conscious of the well-being of the interpreter and the possibility that the interpreter may experience vicarious traumatization. Indeed, a recently published quality improvement study exploring challenges faced by interpreters assisting in the provision of trauma-focused treatment for immigrant populations found that vicarious trauma was common among participants (Villalobos et al, 2021). Thus, this postevaluation meeting may include offering support and processing any emotional reactions the interpreter may be having.…”

Section: Ethical Standards Guiding Immigration Evaluationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, this postevaluation meeting may include offering support and processing any emotional reactions the interpreter may be having. Additionally, the emotional distress identified by Villalobos et al (2021) highlights the need for mental health training to prepare interpreters for this type of psychological evaluations, which often involve the disclosure of traumatic events and preventing secondary traumatic stress.…”

Section: Ethical Standards Guiding Immigration Evaluationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional guidelines for psychological evaluations in immigration proceedings.

Mercado¹,

Antuña²,

Bailey³

et al. 2022

Journal of Latinx Psychology

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Assessment of social and psychological functioning and well-being can add valuable information to immigration proceedings and support government agencies in providing adequate care to immigrants seeking legal relief. However, at present, no guidelines exist for psychologists or mental health clinicians completing psychological evaluations for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other immigrant-serving entities. These evaluations involve several complexities and risks. Professionals performing such evaluations serve a population in a state of vulnerability, and the outcomes of these evaluations contribute to important decisions for the lives of these individuals as well as their families. In view of this, a task force, rising out of the Undocumented Immigrant Collaborative Special Interest Group, was formed at the 2018 National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA) convention. The mission of the task force was to delineate appropriate guidelines for the field which are presented here. These guidelines for psychologists and other mental health clinicians completing these types of psychological evaluations intend to provide a framework and promote quality and consistency on immigration-related evaluations. Guidelines are provided as a wellsupported practical guidance for the practice of forensic psychological assessments (i.e., the evaluation answers a psycholegal question) and forensic-adjacent assessments (i.e., the evaluation is conducted on an individual in immigration court proceedings) conducted for USCIS and other immigrant-serving entities. This document begins with a brief discussion of foundational issues inherent to immigration evaluations and then presents the nine most essential guidelines the task force identified for working with immigrant populations. This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

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“…The person responsible for the translation influences the conversation by their presence and this person must be able to adopt a therapeutic, non-judgmental, and empathic attitude, and to maintain confidentiality ( Miller et al, 2005 ; Gartley and Due, 2017 ). Therefore, the interpreter needs to have a basic understanding of the therapeutic approach in order to be able to produce qualified translation in psychotherapy settings ( Miller et al, 2005 ; Bauer and Alegría, 2010 ; Butow et al, 2012 ; Becher and Wieling, 2015 ; Kießl et al, 2017 ; Hanft-Robert et al, 2018 ; Fennig and Denov, 2021 ; Villalobos et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and evaluation of a training program for interpreters in the field of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy

Müller

Unterhitzenberger

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

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BackgroundThe treatment of traumatized refugee minors is often challenging because of language barriers. International guidelines, therefore, recommend the use of language mediators. However, there is a scarcity of evaluated training programs that prepare language mediators to translate during psychotherapy developed specifically for this patient group, for instance trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT).MethodsBased on an extensive literature review and in collaboration with an expert focus group, a one-day TF-CBT-specific online training program was developed for language mediators willing to work with minor refugees, and delivered on nine occasions between November 2020 and June 2021. The participants answered pre- and post-training questions about trauma- and TF-CBT-related knowledge and attitudes relevant to therapy, as well as the perceived usefulness of the training. Bayesian estimation was used to determine pre-post changes.ResultsA total of 129 participants speaking 35 different languages participated in the training program. Analyses revealed 95% highest density intervals not containing the null with respect to knowledge gain (effect size median 0.28) and change in treatment-appropriate attitudes (effect size median 0.31). The participants rated the training as useful.ConclusionThe TF-CBT-specific training course was successfully carried out. It was likely to disseminate both knowledge gains and a shift toward more treatment-appropriate attitudes. It was perceived as useful by the participants. Given the scarcity of evaluated training programs for language mediators working with minor refugees, the results are promising. The limitations include the lack of both a control group and the verification of the results using an external outcome measure.

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Interpreter perspectives on working with trauma patients: Challenges and recommendations to improve access to care.

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

Compassion and Trauma: Occupational Health Experiences of Certified Medical Interpreters in Five U.S. States

Compassion and Trauma: Occupational Health Experiences of Certified Medical Interpreters in Five U.S. States

Professional guidelines for psychological evaluations in immigration proceedings.

Development and evaluation of a training program for interpreters in the field of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy

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