When the Words Stay With You: Vicarious Trauma in Legal Transcription
As legal transcribers, we’re trained to focus on accuracy, formatting, and structure. But sometimes the hardest part of the job isn’t the audio quality or formatting rules, it’s the content itself.
Transcribers regularly hear intimate details of traumatic events like abuse, violence, loss, or graphic testimony. We don’t just hear these stories, we sit with them. We pause, rewind, and listen again. We absorb them.
And that can take a toll.
This is called vicarious trauma, the emotional residue that comes from bearing witness to another person’s suffering, even secondhand. And yes, transcribers are at risk.
What Does Vicarious Trauma Look Like for a Transcriber?
We might experience:
Fatigue after working on emotionally heavy content
Intrusive thoughts about what was heard long after the job is complete
Increased irritability or difficulty sleeping
Emotional detachment or feeling numb after certain assignments
Avoidance of similar jobs or even entire court topics (e.g., child abuse cases)
Burnout which can feel like a creeping sense of exhaustion, cynicism, or dread about the work
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And it doesn’t mean you’re “too sensitive” or unfit for the work. It means you’re human.
Why It Happens in Our Line of Work
Unlike many court professionals, we don’t just hear something once. We hear it over and over again as we pause, rewind, and play back all of the minute details.
We don’t get the courtroom’s emotional pacing, body language, or breaks. We get a four-hour audio file, and our job is to dissect every second of it. When that file includes trauma, we carry that weight, often in silence.
How to Care for Your Mental Health
You can’t pour from an empty cup. Here are some things that help:
✅ Build Awareness
Recognize the signs of vicarious trauma. Give yourself permission to name it and talk about it.
🛑 Set Emotional Boundaries
It’s okay to step away from certain types of content. Request breaks between emotionally difficult jobs, or pass on topics that hit too close to home.
💬 Talk About It
You’re not alone. Connect with peers, supervisors, or mental health professionals. Even a short conversation can lift a heavy emotional load.
🧘 Prioritize Recovery
Take mental health days when needed. Go outside. Watch something funny. Get absorbed in a hobby. Whatever helps you feel grounded again.
🔄 Rotate Job Types
If you’ve just completed a transcript involving intense or traumatic content, try to follow it up with something lighter if your schedule allows.
Our Commitment at Access Transcripts
We care about the people on our team, not just the transcripts they deliver. We encourage them to talk about these types of issues, and we let them know that they can always request a break or pass on certain content that might be too upsetting. We are here to support their well-being as much as their work, because caring for each other is part of what makes us different.
