Season 1 Episode 16 - Dr Miranda Lai, Senior Lecturer, RMIT University - Vicarious Trauma Among Interpreters Artwork

Conversations: Interpreting and Translating's Podcast

“Conversations” is the Professional Development division of All Graduates and as part of this PD initiative, we, at All Graduates have decided to launch a fortnightly podcast to complement our webinars and online courses. Every episode we will have a guest and have a conversation about current and hot topics related to the T and I industry as well as interpreting and translation-related challenges and strategies. Guests will vary from T&I practitioners across Australia to key figures in the industry as well as expert names in other fields of practice that are intertwined with the interpreting and translation industry. Each episode will be available via YouTube, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and Spotify as well as the All Graduates website. The purpose of our podcasts is to aid the professional development of translators and interpreters in Australia by providing them with easy to access T and I related content and current affairs in a conversational format.

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Conversations: Interpreting and Translating's Podcast

Season 1 Episode 16 - Dr Miranda Lai, Senior Lecturer, RMIT University - Vicarious Trauma Among Interpreters

October 30, 2020 • Conversations: Interpreting and Translating

When we interpret, we often immerse ourselves in the client’s emotional world in order to convey what is meant by them. It may not occur to us this empathic engagement may create unexpected consequences. Many professions such us counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers listen to graphic descriptions of horrific events as part of their job. Research shows that, over time, these professionals may experience similar symptoms as their trauma clients, and further feel changes within themselves, and about the way they see the world. If this may happen to these professionals, there is no reason to assume that interpreters would be immune, given we work in the exact same setting as them.

In this week’s episode Fatih chats with Dr Miranda Lai, Senior Lecturer, Translation and Interpreting department at RMIT University, who has conducted research on Vicarious Trauma, about what it is and how practitioners can look for its signs as well as some self-care strategies.

Guest Bio:

Dr Miranda Lai is senior lecturer in Translating and Interpreting Studies at RMIT University. She has published widely in public service interpreting and its training. Her research interests include police interpreting, public service interpreting, and ethics for translators and interpreters. She has conducted research on Vicarious Trauma and is the co-author of “Professional Interpreters and Vicarious Trauma: An Australian Perspective (2020)” and “Vicarious Trauma Among Interpreters (2015)”.

Webinar:

You can find a webinar on Vicarious Trauma for Interpreters, presented by Dr Miranda Lai, on the "Conversations" Training and PD website:
https://allgraduates.arlo.co/w/events/36-vicarious-trauma-for-interpreters

Your interest and support is greatly appreciated and we hope you will join us for our events throughout 2020 and onwards.

Don’t forget to visit our new training website for more information and PD opportunities
https://allgraduates.arlo.co/w/