Dealing with Challenging People workshop – 2 June 2018

Interpreters sometimes encounter negative feedback and complaints from clients (Deaf and hearing) and co-workers that they struggle to respond well to. These may occur during an assignment or might be in the form of criticism after an assignment – either directly or through agencies or other people, as informal feedback or as a formal complaint.

Being accused of poor performance or being unprofessional can be difficult to digest; not all interpreters are under professional supervision or part of a Peer Supervision Group and may have nowhere to take their feelings of shame, embarrassment or humiliation to explore the fairness of the complaint/feedback.

In the heat of the moment, in mid-flow interpreting, it can be too overwhelming to think of an appropriate response that minimises disruption yet comes across as professional and impartial. How do interpreters handle this? Can it be rehearsed? And what is the best way to deal with formal complaints?

Morgan Phillips is a professional complaints investigator, mediator and adjudicator. She spent the first 15 years of her career in the mental health and addiction field, running social care services for both Deaf BSL users and hearing people, where she gained insights into managing distress and aggression. For the past 12 years she has been immersed in the world of complaints handling, working both for the NHS and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and supporting her husband Darren Townsend-Handscomb with www.DeafATW.com. She recently completed a Masters degree in Medical Law and Ethics.

Morgan provides training for NHS staff on how to deal with complaints, and how to manage challenging communication, and has trained as a mediator in her NHS Trust to deal with inter-staff conflict.

This workshop will look at effective ways of responding to complaints and negative feedback and how interpreters can explore and manage their feelings of humiliation.