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Interpreter Care: From Personal to Organizational Strategies for Dealing with Job Stress

Interpreter Care: From Personal to Organizational Strategies for Dealing with Job Stress. Danielle Sandage & Silvia Boerboom Children’s Hospital & Clinics of MN. Identified Interpreter Stress. Deaths Trauma Cases Lack of control or influence over job Boundary Maintenance

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Interpreter Care: From Personal to Organizational Strategies for Dealing with Job Stress

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  1. Interpreter Care: From Personal to Organizational Strategies for Dealing with Job Stress Danielle Sandage & Silvia Boerboom Children’s Hospital & Clinics of MN

  2. Identified Interpreter Stress • Deaths • Trauma Cases • Lack of control or influence over job • Boundary Maintenance (Based on Focus Group, N=25)

  3. Mediating Cultural Horizons Interpreter Staff Parent

  4. Interpreter StressResearch Findings • Several interview and survey-based studies of job satisfaction, stress and burnout in the interpreting field have been reported (Branam, 1991; Heller et al, 1986; Neville, 1992; Watson, 1987) Most report findings of high burnout rates among interpreters

  5. Interpreter StressResearch Findings (cont.) Frustration with the lack of professional support available after graduation  Inadequate training for realities of the working world

  6. Interpreter StressResearch Findings (cont.) Factors cited as causing stress: • Working conditions • Unattainably high performance expectations • Conflicting view among consumers’ understanding of the interpreter’s role • Emotional reactions and duress with no outlet for dealing with them • Involvement in private and sensitive situations • Limited ability to help consumers other than through interpreter role • Real and perceived skill inadequacies*

  7. Vicarious Trauma • Construct meant to note the negative impact of trauma treatment on therapists (McCann and Pearlman, 1990) • The transformation that occurs within the therapist (or other trauma workers) as a result of empathic engagement with client’s trauma experiences and their sequelae (Pearlman & Maclan, 1995)

  8. Vicarious Trauma Disruption in five fundamental need areas: • Safety • Trust/dependency • Esteem • Control • Intimacy McCann & Pearlman (1990)

  9. Vicarious Trauma • Flashbacks • Dreams or intrusive thoughts • Mood dysphoria • Psychological numbing • Denial and Distancing McCann & Pearlman (1990)

  10. “The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk though water without getting wet” Rachel Remen in Kitchen Table Wisdon: Stories that Heal (1996)

  11. Scope of Stress in the American Workplace • ¼ of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives (Northwestern National Life, 1992) • ¾ of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago (Princeton Survey Research Associates, 1997) • Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor – more than financial or marital problems. (St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., 1992)

  12. Job Stress and Health:What the Research Tells Us • Cardiovascular Disease • Musculoskeletal Disorders • Psychological Disorders • Workplace Injury (50% greater for workers who report work stress) • Impaired Immune Functioning

  13. Early Warning Signs of Job Stress

  14. Coping with Stress • Cognitive Focused (Humor, reframing, self-talk) • Problem-Focused (Action plan, speaking with boss) • Emotion-Focused (Mindfulness, Spirituality, Prayer, Deep breathing) • Relationship Focused (Social Support)

  15. Coping with Stress:Self-Care Strategies • Cultivating a sense of humor • Healthy intimate and family relationships • Connection with colleagues for peer consultation/vent feelings • Hobbies or leisure activities • Physical self-care (i.e., healthy diet, exercise) • Meditation, prayer, self-reflection • Create your own self-care list

  16. Coping with Stress:Self-Care Strategies in the Workplace • Avoid professional isolation • Debrief difficult cases • Development support systems • Seek training to improve job skills/capacity • Deep Breathing exercises in moments of stress

  17. Coping with Stress:Setting and Maintaining Boundaries • Don’t take on more than you can do • Work only assigned hours • Limit personal information about yourself to consumer • Declining gifts and correspondence • Leave work at work!!

  18. REMEMBER: “To keep the lamp burning we have to keep putting oil on it.” By Mother Theresa

  19. Organization Interventions • Debriefing meetings • Staff training • Interdisciplinary Collaboration • Allow for breaks when possible between difficult sessions • Ability to cancel session • Nursing/SW brief interpreter on case beforehand • Continual reminders of interpreter role within system (i.e., orange alerts) Themes: Empowerment & Control

  20. Managing Stress MattersThe Nun Study

  21. When Stress becomes problematic • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) • Referrals to Therapists

  22. Contact Information Danielle Sandage, MSW, LGSW Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of MN Social Work Department Email: Danielle.Sandage@childrensmn.org Wk: 612-813-5805 Silvia Boerboom Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of MN Interpreter Services Department Email: Silvia.Boerboom@Childrensmn.org

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