Social work with trauma survivors: collaboration with interpreters

Area of Science:

• Social Work
• Psychology
• Trauma Studies

Background:

• Interpreters face significant emotional distress, inadequate training, and stressful conditions when serving survivors of severe human-perpetrated trauma.
• Effective collaboration between social workers and interpreters is often overlooked, despite language barriers being a critical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the critical need for enhanced collaboration between social workers and interpreters serving survivors of severe human-perpetrated trauma.
• To explore the training, support, and self-care needs of interpreters and social workers in this context.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of interpreter selection, training, and support systems.
• Analysis of social worker training needs regarding interpreter collaboration.
• Examination of secondary trauma and organizational support impacts.

Main Results:

• Identified critical gaps in interpreter training and support.
• Highlighted the impact of secondary trauma on both professionals.
• Emphasized the necessity of organizational support for effective service delivery.

Conclusions:

• Effective collaboration requires comprehensive training and support for both social workers and interpreters.
• Specialized training, ongoing supervision, and therapy are vital for interpreters.
• Organizational support is essential for successful outcomes when serving trauma survivors.