IJSP Number 6, 2024

113 4.6. PROTECT INTERPRETERS FROM EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD WHILE MAINTAINING EMPATHIC ATTUNEMENT One of the interpreters in our group, concerned about the emotional impact of her role, sought advice from the group leader on how to efficiently interpret within the unique context of a supervision group for psychotherapists assisting those traumatized by the war. The group leader suggested adopting a “witness” position, refraining from complete immersion in the feelings of the group members. This approach helped the interpreter to maintain some professional distance to be able to perform her role. She didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for members to fully express their emotions or describe painful realities, but she also was mindful of the vicarious trauma that could result from it. Still, the interpreter decided that some level of emotional involvement was necessary to help participants feel safe and validated. The key here is achieving a balance where the interpreter is with group members emotionally, and also able to tolerate difficult material that is shared. In this group the leader also encouraged the interpreter’s active participation in discussions, which led to her feeling “like a fully-fledged part of the group.” She described the positive outcome of this approach, the creation of a warm, safe space where everyone felt open to express themselves and share delicate personal topics. Another way this interpreter described being helped by her leader was the suggestion to remain “neutral” during conflicts between group members. She said she strives to impartially translate each member’s thoughts and feelings. Another interpreter had a very different experience and described being encouraged to express the emotional valence of group member’s statements and not to “talk like a robot” (a criticism of a previous interpreter). She received appreciation for her ability to do this but felt that she was doing “emotional work” for the group while not being considered a full-fledged member (she was not invited to share her emotional reactions). As was mentioned in recommendation 2, this feeling of being left out of an important part of the conversation may be avoided if the interpreter has a forum of their own to express their feelings as they emerge. Alternatively, some group leaders, as in the preceding example, invite the interpreter to share their feelings and consider themselves a member of the group. 4.7. MINIMIZE SUBGROUPING WHEN LEADERS AND MEMBERS SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES Since these groups typically pair a group leader who doesn’t speak Ukrainian with Ukrainian members the interpreter needs to translate everything that is said as faithfully as possible. One way that failing to do so can have a negative effect is through subgrouping that can occur. In one instance an