Commonly Requested Lectures and Workshops:

"It all depends..." The Demand-Control Schema for Interpreting Work

Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT
Robert Q Pollard, Ph.D.

When interpreters describe their job, they often say, "facilitating communication between two languages and cultures." Yet, when asked about a hypothetical translation choice, they frequently reply, "It all depends.." If language and cultural factors tend to be static, why then are translational choices and ethical judgments so often situational? Interpreters, through years of trial and error, on-the-job learning, are increasingly recognizing that effective communication frequently depends on variables other than language and culture.

The demands of interpreting work involve much more than substituting one language for another. The nature of the physical environment, the dynamics and interactions between the people who are present, and even the "inner noise" of the interpreter contribute to the accuracy or lack thereof, of the resulting translation, as well as to interpreter stress and burnout. We believe the key to occupational effectiveness in the interpreting profession involved understanding and responding to the language and non-language aspects of interpreting assignments.

This workshop is based on the presenters' application of "demand-control theory" to the profession of sign language interpreting. It will provide a framework for understanding the range of variables that are relevant to interpreting work. It will offer tools to identify which variables are most salient in a given assignment and how best to respond, especially when the prevailing variables are not linguistic or cultural ones. The workshop will offer a forum for frank discussion about the difficult and complex choices interpreters make in service of our professional goal to "facilitate communication between two languages and cultures."

A Psychological Perspective on Cochlear Implant Programs,
Candidate Readiness, and the Implant Controversy

Robert Pollard, Ph.D.

Dr. Pollard's views on the psychological aspects of cochlear implantation have appeared in journals and newspapers and been the subject of numerous presentations to students, Deaf community groups, the general public, surgeons, and other medical personnel in the implant field. He has served as a psychologist on implant teams in California and New York for 15 years and developed influential viewpoints regarding candidate evaluation and informed consent in particular. In this presentation, Dr. Pollard will describe his conceptualizations of candidate readiness and the methods he currently uses in the pre-operative psychological assessment of implant candidates and families of candidates. He will also discuss his emerging viewpoints regarding the spectrum of liberal-to-conservative implant programs and the dynamics that fuel the cochlear implant controversy.

Mental Health Interpreting

Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT
Robert Q Pollard, Ph.D.

The translation work of sign language interpreters involves much more than substituting one language for another. The nature of the physical environment, the dynamics and interactions between the people who are present, even the "inner noise" of the interpreter will contribute to the accuracy, or lack thereof, of the resulting translation. In settings such as mental health, hearing and deaf consumers' perceptions, decisions, and behavior can be differentially impacted by how the interpreter is influenced by these complex language and non-language factors. Understanding each of these dimensions of interpreting work and how they are unique in mental health interpreting is the goal of this course. Among the topics that will examined are: (1) how expressive and receptive language abilities can be directly altered by mental illness and pragmatic approaches for addressing such issues, (2) details of various mental health assignment settings and what can be expected therein, e.g., psychiatric emergency rooms, inpatient units, psychotherapy sessions, psychological testing appointments, (3) the consequences that certain translation decisions and assumptions can have for mental health treatment, especially when the hearing and deaf consumers are unaware of the interpreter's decisions, (4) how interpreters' tendency to suppress emotion can lead to both translation and personal problems when that suppression and the stress it induces are not recognized and dealt with appropriately.

Interpreter Translation in Psychotherapy:
What Clinicians Don't know is Happening... But Should!

Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT

"Just translate word for word what I say," is the simplistic statement psychologists often make to interpreters as they prepare to serve individuals who speak languages other than English. The interpreter rarely has time to explain the complexities of language and cross-cultural translation to the psychologist. What would the psychologist think if the interpreter had time to explain the following:

1. I will indeed need to change the words you have chosen.
2. I will need to add and delete information during the interpretation.
3. I will need to make vague and open-ended questions closed and concrete, which will lead and influence how the client answers.
4. I will add my own judgment to what you mean and what the client means.
5. My presence and my own needs will influence the flow of the session and the relationship between you and the client.

While these statements are bold and not every situation calls for such diversion from the "word for word"; directive/fantasy, these statements more closely reflect the real work of interpreters in mental health settings.

This presentation grew out of the teamwork experiences of the psychologist and interpreter presenters. Using videotaped excerpts from a family therapy session, they will explain and illustrate the reality and implications of each of the above statements, from both of their professional perspectives. What they learned from one another about the goals and complexities of each of their professional roles, and how those goals and roles were sometimes compatible and sometimes not, has been enlightening to them and to the clinician and interpreter audiences we have presented to in the past.

Dysfluent Language:
A Diagnostic and Service Challenge for Clinicians and Interpreters

Robert Q Pollard, Ph.D.
Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT

The very nature of an individual's communication, plus the information it conveys, leads to diagnostic and treatment formulations. Dysfluent communication may reflect neurological or psychiatric disorder or the non-medical consequences of impoverished developmental experience. How can these different sources of dysfluency be distinguished by the clinician or the interpreter? Why are they each important? How should the presence of dysfluency be handled in treatment and interpreting situations? The presenters will first discuss diagnostic aspects of language dysfluency and then present a systematic approach to responding to the challenges of dysfluent language in interpreting and treatment settings. These challenges span several domains -- linguistic, environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. The options available for responding to communication dysfluency in light of each domain will be detailed. An overriding theme will be the partnership between the clinician and the interpreter in light of their shared prioritization of the consumer's service goals.

Child Psychotherapy via an Interpreter: Challenges and Suggestions

Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT

Providing psychotherapy to deaf children through the services of a sign language interpreter offers particular challenges to effective treatment. Often, children fail to comprehend and behave in accordance with the expected role boundaries of the interpreter, instead directly engaging the interpreter in conversations or play therapy. Many children fail to understand the fundamental reality that the interpreter's communications are not his or her "own" but instead are the "voice" of the therapist. It is common for children in psychotherapy to form a much stronger bond to the sign-fluent interpreter than the hearing clinician. Hearing therapists, frequently unfamiliar with the experience of deafness, Deaf culture, etc., often fail to make needed adjustments in their communication and therapeutic approaches when serving deaf children and working with an interpreter. As the only individual in the room who truly sees "both sides of the story" interpreters frequently feel unable to step out of rigid role expectations to provide consultation on such matters or interpret in more flexible and effective (though non-traditional) ways. These and other difficulties can create complex and problematic dynamics between the interpreter, the therapist, and the child which in turn may lead to less effective, even iatrogenic (harmful) treatment results. In this presentation, videotapes of interpreted child psychotherapy sessions will be used to illustrate common treatment and communication dilemmas. Methods of preventing and circumventing such problems will be discussed and illustrated ú some addressing methods of interpreting per se, others addressing alternative therapeutic approaches.

Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT
Robert Q Pollard, Ph.D.

There is a lot of attention these days on the effects of stress in the workplace. Research shows that sign language interpreters are at serious risk for stress and trauma related work impairment. Yet, the differences in personality and interpreting work environments complicate the prediction and prevention of stress-related problems. How does an interpreter gauge his or her individual risk for stress-related illness, injury, and burnout? How can stress in the interpreting profession be understood when our working lives consist of being èguestsî in a host of other professions' environments, sometimes on an hour to hour basis? Students will learn about current theories and research findings on occupational stress in the interpreting profession and how to apply this knowledge to their daily work. Emotional reactions and risks in interpreting will also be explored through exercises and class discussion.

Supervision in the Interpreting Profession

Robyn K. Dean, CI/CT
Robert Q Pollard, Ph.D.

The interpreting profession does not typically employ models of supervision common in mental health, teaching, medicine, and other high-demand professions. This course examines that problem from a historical and professional practice perspective while modeling a unique approach of confidential, individual and group supervision for sign language interpreters. Supervision in this context does not mean an exclusive, critical focus on translation skills, but a holistic, empowering examination of the many challenges of interpreting work in a context that benefits mentees and mentors alike. Participants will engage in-group supervision discussions regarding their ongoing professional activities and will learn to become supervisor-mentors in the process. They also will receive individualized personality and stress/coping assessments as well as individual feedback regarding their interpreting work through weekly confidential supervision journals.