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FEATURES therapist and can mistake her and the interpreter for prison guards. Witnessing flashbacks can be unsettling if you are not trained to work with them. When it is known that a client is susceptible to flashbacks, the practitioner should tell the interpreter not to be alarmed if the client reacts in a particular way towards them, for example seeing them as a prison guard. If the interpreter triggers the flashback in some way – perhaps by wearing a particular colour – they will be advised not to take this personally. People who have had traumatic experiences can be misinterpreted or misdiagnosed. clients may regress to a time in their lives when they felt safe, so they may speak in a childlike way. they often tell their stories in a fragmented manner, in order to protect themselves from experiencing the trauma over again. thus they may speak in this way: "pain… man… beat". the interpreter may be tempted to change the register or to fill in the gaps: "a man beat me and I was left in pain". this is not advisable. over time, the practitioner can recognise progress as the client starts to use age- appropriate language and speak in a less fragmented way. If this progress is not visible, the client would be referred for further specialist treatment. Calm in the face of panic clients may have periods of feeling extreme fear and symptoms may include pounding heart, palpitations, sweating, trembling, shaking, shortness of breath, stomach pain, a choking feeling, nausea, numbness, chest pain, feeling dizzy or faint, chills and hot flushes. they may feel they are 'going crazy' or fear that they are dying. A panic attack can be frightening for the client and may also frighten the interpreter, especially if the client fears that they are dying because of their symptoms. these physical symptoms are usually normal reactions to fear and extreme trauma. So if a client is visibly shaking, their heart is pounding, they are sweating and struggling for breath, the practitioner's main task is to help the client calm down. the practitioner will talk to the client and reassure them that the symptoms are normal, and in doing so, he or she will also be reassuring the interpreter. It helps if the interpreter also speaks with a calm tone of voice. Interpreters need to know that the practitioner is responsible for what happens in the consulting room and will be assessing whether this is a panic attack or a heart attack, for example. the practitioner will decide when medical intervention is required, so it would not be useful for the interpreter to leave the room to look for help. Interpreting silence clients often speak about feeling sad or empty; they may be tearful, avoid eye contact, have visible weight loss, walk and talk in a very slow manner, or not speak at all. Silence can be a symptom of depression and is very meaningful in therapy. therapists are trained to manage silence but interpreters work with verbal communication. Silence is difficult to deal with; you feel useless, as you are unable to help because you have no idea what the client is experiencing. one symptom of depression is feeling worthless, useless and hopeless. often clients give us a taste of this experience, especially if they are unable to put it into words – i.e, they will communicate what they are feeling by making the practitioner feel what they feel. In the silence, the practitioner may feel despair or irritation, grief or anxiety. these feelings provide important information about the client and help the practitioner begin to understand them. Practitioners work very hard to listen to the quality of the silence. It is very easy, in silence, to switch off and think about other things. It is important to encourage interpreters to stay present to the client and to resist the temptation to think, 'the client is not speaking so I have no work to do'. When interpreters take out their diaries and start doing other jobs, it may convey a message to the client that they are worthless or not worth thinking about, and this increases their despair. Survivors of torture may have recurrent thoughts of death. When a client expresses suicidal thoughts it can be alarming. one instinct is to reassure the client, and say, "Don't worry. It will be alright." We may even want to call the client outside of sessions to see if they are ok. however, it is very important that the client feels understood. When we reassure them, we fail to let them know that their despair is understood. It is for us to hold on to hope until the client feels able to do that for themselves. every person is unique, so the issues interpreters and practitioners face with one client might be expressed in a completely different way by another. this means that they have to adapt and deal with every situation differently. For example, we might say that an interpreter should never share their personal information, but this may not always be true. We once were working with a client who was mute a lot of the time. caroline found out that the interpreter came from the same city as the client and suggested that she share this information with the client. this was a breakthrough: when the client spoke about her city, the interpreter could say, "Yes I know that building, that street, that market" – in essence, "I know exactly what you are talking about". the client slowly began to talk more freely about her experiences. This article is based on a presentation for the CIOL Interpreting Division. Silence can be very meaningful in therapy… But it is difficult to deal with; you feel useless A panic attack can be frightening and may frighten the interpreter, especially if the client fears they are dying DeceMBer 2014/JANuArY 2015 The Linguist 15