Vicarious trauma happens when we internalize someone else’s trauma and experience it as if it were our own. Given the setting in which they work, interpreters are at high risk of experiencing vicarious trauma.
In the same survey, 72.6 percent of interpreters stated that they experienced vicarious trauma at least once throughout their career. 47.9 percent even indicated that it had happened to them several times.
These results show that vicarious trauma can have a serious impact on the interpreting industry. It’s time to recognize the issue and help combat it.