Supporting the Supporters: Trauma-Informed Organizational Care
Session Description
Interpreters and cultural brokers are vital partners in trauma-informed care for refugees and survivors of displacement and torture, yet their own emotional wellbeing is often overlooked. Working at the intersection of language justice, cultural brokering, and therapeutic care, they frequently carry significant exposure to traumatic material, complex relational dynamics, and the invisible emotional labor of cross-cultural service provision.
This presentation examines the impact of vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral injury among interpreters and cultural brokers, while offering a culturally responsive, narrative-informed framework for organizational support. Participants will explore practical strategies—including alliance building, peer support, and trauma-informed wellness programming—to strengthen workforce resilience, interdisciplinary collaboration, and quality of care for survivors.
Learning Objectives
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Recognize the unique occupational stressors experienced by interpreters and cultural brokers working with trauma-impacted displaced populations.
- Increase awareness of vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral injury in the context of interpreter work.
- Apply trauma-informed, culturally responsive organizational strategies that support interpreter wellbeing and improve systems of care.
Target Audience
Staff of torture rehabilitation programs that are funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement and/or are members of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs as well as SASIC Program staff. This session is designed for providers working with survivors of torture populations across disciplines, such as: legal services, social work, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, and case management, including but not limited to mental health clinicians, social workers, refugee service providers, torture treatment professionals, interpreters/cultural brokers, supervisors, and organizational leaders engaged in cross-cultural trauma care.