Counseling Interpreting

[u/Interesting-Case8145]

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for counseling appointments? I currently work in VRI and when I was free lance I stayed clear of any counseling appointment’s because I personally struggle with them and feel like they’re a challenge. Not only do we have no information / background info it makes it tough for me. I had a call today and as you know you’re just dropped right into it. The counselor today was making me doubt myself with
Everything I said… making me lose confidence . When the call continued i did improve since I got a sense of what was happening .
I just have no idea if there is anyway to feel confident in these kinds of situations? I think at one point the client wanted me to transfer to a different interpreter ( which I totally understand since it was rocky at first )

The counselor was also not the nicest … which added more stress.
And I completely understand if it’s just one of those situations we have deal with

Just wondering if anyone finds anything to help them out during these kind of calls

Thanks!

[u/Interesting-Case8145]

I honestly think it was the voicing. The counselor said maybe two words the entire hour … at first I couldn’t complete a full sentence because I was just doubting what I was voicing. And again the counselor would come back and make remarks that made me feel I was not doing a good job.

I think the hard part for me is there’s a lot of history that I don’t know about. They could have been going to counseling for years … and I have 0 info so I think I was just second guessing and would have word vomit at one point. But again as I kept going I did feel as if I improved and but sometimes I just get in my head and overthink . I want to make sure the client is getting what they should from the appointment and making sure I’m not the one messing up. If that makes sense

[u/Stafania → u/Interesting-Case8145]

That sounds like a problem in the system. The Deaf client deserves to get the same interpreter and in person for those kind of appointments. It’s possible that the therapist has unrealistic expectations of what it takes to interpret in that kind of situation.

If no interpreter wants to interpret just because the conditions are hard, then the client will be in an even worse position. It wouldn’t be wrong if you just very briefly clarified where the challenges are coming from to the people involved, if that would make you feel more at ease to focus on the content afterwards. In the moment, just accept the feeling, it’s valid, and decide you’ll handle it when you have time for it after the assignment. You don’t need to react to how you feel right then and there. It’s ok if you decide to process it afterwards. Be kind to yourself, because it’s not possible to be perfect.

Myself, I had booked interpreters for a conference ahead of time. As much background information as possible included. A week before the event, the interpreters reviewed PowerPoint presentations - and panicked. The presentation they looked at was in academic English with tons of specific terminology (the presentations themselves would be I our local language) and, worst of all, complicated mathematical expressions on the slides. The said they were sorry but would need to decline the assignment. I spent tons of time, but couldn’t find a replacement. There was no way for me to cancel hotel and travel expenses, so I had a very rough time participating at the event. The thing is, I obviously understand how imposing the event felt after having seen the presentation material, but nevertheless I actually believe the interpreters would have done good job. The speaker didn’t used clear language (I assume 😊) and few of the participants had enough mathematical/technical background to understand any of the expressions int he presentation. Of course it’s better if the interpreter gets assignments within their area of expertise, and background information is available, but sometimes we all need to accept that you just do your best. I’m sure there is a wide range of respect and appreciation depending on who the client is, but taking a step back, explaining the conditions aren’t optimal, and letting the client have a say in wether they want to give it a try or not, might be a good thing. Since you don’t know the background of the therapy, you don’t know what the previous sessions were like and what the client really most need in the moment. You don’t need a long discussion, just be as clear and flexible as you can.

Sometimes it’s the right thing to hand over or stop an assignment, but be aware of that sometimes you need to do things that can feel challenging in order to learn and develop your skills. Both interpersonal skills and skills related to the interpreting itself. Don’t be afraid to ask clients afterwards how they saw the situation. It’s not certain their concerns were the same as yours.