Secondary Traumatic Stress in Interpreters in Psychotherapy – A New Research Area?

Abstract

Research in the field of translation studies and its association to other scientific fields is increasing day by day. In this regard, it is inevitable that community interpreting, which has emerged and rapidly developed to meet the need for translation in community services in different fields, will benefit from psychological approaches and theories. It is seen that with the increase in migration mobility, the community translator, who works with trauma victims in particular, plays an important role in institutions such as hospitals and social services. It is seen that the studies in Turkey the focus is on the competencies, duties and responsibilities of the health translator. However, interpreters who provide interpretation services to people with trauma experiences may be emotionally affected by the events they hear. Findings related to secondary traumatic stress disorder were found in occupational groups such as social workers and psychologists.
 In this study, the assumption is that community translators can also experience secondary trauma-related stress seen in different occupational groups working in the field of community service. Academic studies on the question of whether people who undertake the task of interpreting for Syrian refugees who benefit from psychosocial support services, especially in the context of migration, will be exposed to the risk of possible occupational secondary traumatization will be traced and the findings will be discussed holistically. When we look at the literature on community interpreting in Turkey, it has been determined that there is no scientific study in the context of secondary traumatic stress, but research on the mental health of translators has gained momentum as a result of the increase in migration mobility in European countries. This study aims to contribute to the development of the relevant literature and to raise awareness for interdisciplinary studies.