RID VIEWS Article, Summer 2025

By Monique Champagne

This column outlines trends we’ve observed, the ethical dilemmas interpreters face, and practical tools that can help interpreters navigate the emotional labor inherent in the profession.

Dissertation by Darlea Wilbeck (2025)

We like this article because it provides interpreter-specific research showing how common vicarious trauma responses are, while highlighting significant gaps in training, awareness, and access to support. It also offers practical, research-supported strategies for managing VT and emphasizes interpreters’ strong commitment to the profession, creating opportunities to build resilience and compassion satisfaction.

Research

Article by Harvey (2015)

This article moves beyond simply identifying the risks of vicarious trauma and explores how interpreters can intentionally process difficult experiences in ways that support growth, meaning and resilience. It offers practical frameworks that can be used in education, mentoring, supervision, debriefing, and personal reflection to strengthen interpreters’ awareness of their values, skills, agency, and connection to their work.

Article by Pollard, Dean & Taylor (2021)

This article provides physiological evidence that interpreters working in VRS and K–12 settings may experience higher levels of chronic occupational stress, with cortisol patterns associated with increased health risks. We like this research because it demonstrates that interpreter stress is not simply subjective and highlights the importance of addressing working conditions, job demands, and opportunities for greater control to support long-term health and career sustainability.

We also like this Research by Dean et al (2025) that builds upon prior VRS health risk research by examining external factors that may contribute to interpreter stress and burnout. Suggestions for remediation and workforce development, involving VRS companies, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and state legislation are offered.