Trauma informed interpreting: The Neurobiology of Trauma
Workshop Description:
The flight, fight, and freeze response is hard-wired into our brains. The chemical response we have to trauma impacts memory retention, cognition, recall, and language production. Learn more about the research of Dr. Rebecca Campbell and how understanding the physical impacts of trauma impact the work of an interpreter.
Presenter Bio:
Andrea K Smith, M.A., CI/CT, SC:L, NIC (pronouns: she/her/hers) has been interpreting professional for twenty years, primarily in legal settings with an emphasis on domestic violence and sexual assault. She currently works as the staff interpreter at the ACLU Disability Rights Project in San Francisco. She received her Master's degree from the European Masters in Sign Language Interpreting with her thesis on Signposting: Neutral Channel Communications in Deaf-Hearing Interpreting Teams. She recently completed a two year assignment in Ireland and engaged in community collaboration on the development of the Irish Sign Language interpreter regulations. Her current research examines teaming strategies for Deaf-Hearing teams, which she hopes to leverage into a PhD proposal. In her personal time, she travels extensively with her spouse and seven-year-old twins.