ABSTRACT
A recent rise in studies dealing with the psychology of translation has established that emotion-eliciting situations are a daily occurrence in the professional lives of translators and interpreters. The research is limited, however, regarding the psychological, emotional, and professional aspects of resilience required by professional subtitlers. As a result, the development of coping techniques that help subtitlers handle job-induced and emotionally intense conditions remains overlooked. This chapter discusses a study on the coping mechanisms employed by subtitlers when working with sensitive audiovisual material (i.e., AV texts concerned with controversial and emotive topics). Subtitlers reported several responses to stressors and shared coping techniques they have developed during their careers. The existence of these techniques problematises notions of detachment during the subtitling process and reveals otherwise silenced on-the-job practices while highlighting the different types of psychological, emotional, and professional resilience these practitioners are required to display on a daily basis. By highlighting the emotional impact experienced by subtitling professionals, we are hoping to encourage an open discussion on the issue, which, in turn, would help to remove the stigma often associated with on-the-job emotionally taxing situations and with mental well-being more broadly.
