MasterWord Becomes First Organization in Texas to Earn Level 2 Trauma-Informed Certification

ECRH's Rigorous certification program recognizes organizations that go beyond policy—and transform how people in crisis experience care, justice, and dignity

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Ecumenical Center (ECRH), a Texas-based nonprofit serving as the certifying body for trauma-informed organizations across the U.S., today announced that MasterWord^® Services, Inc. has earned Level 2 Trauma-Informed Certification—making MasterWord the first organization to reach this level through ECRH’s nationally recognized Trauma-Informed Certification program. For ECRH, this milestone is more than a credentialing achievement. It is evidence that a new standard of human-centered communication is taking hold—one conversation, one interaction, one organization at a time.

MasterWord first earned Level 1 Trauma-Informed Certification in 2025, becoming the first language services company in the nation to do so. The progression to Level 2 reflects a deeper, documented integration of trauma-informed principles—embedded not just in policy, but in the daily practice of how MasterWord trains its language professionals, supports its staff, and serves clients navigating some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

Trauma changes people. It affects memory, behavior, and the ability to respond to questions in a linear, expected way. It shapes body language, eye contact, tone, and silence. In a medical examination, a child welfare interview, a courtroom, or a conversation with a trafficking survivor, an interpreter is not simply a conduit—they are a human presence in a high-stakes exchange. A person who avoids eye contact may not be evasive; they may be afraid. A person who cannot recall the sequence of events may not be unreliable; they may be experiencing the fractured memory trauma produces.

Trauma-informed practice begins with a fundamental shift: not “What is wrong with this person?” but “What has happened to this person?” That shift—from judgment to understanding—is what ECRH’s certification program is designed to build across every type of organization, and what MasterWord has now formally demonstrated at the highest level currently available.

ECRH developed its Trauma-Informed Certification program in collaboration with community partners and national experts. The tiered structure is designed to move organizations from awareness to integration to transformation—and the distinction between levels is meaningful. Level 1 is the commitment: it builds shared organizational language, establishes foundational practices, and creates environments where clients, staff, and partners feel safer and more respected. Level 2 is the proof: it requires demonstrated, documented evidence that trauma-informed principles have been woven into how an organization actually operates—its training systems, quality practices, staff support structures, and culture. Adopting a framework is not enough. Level 2 asks organizations to show their work.

To earn Level 2 certification, MasterWord completed a rigorous assessment led by the ECRH certification team, demonstrating achievement across multiple domains including staff engagement and training, organizational reflection, documented implementation, and ongoing professional development and wellness support for language professionals.

For a language services company, trauma-informed certification is not abstract. It shapes how interpreters are trained to recognize trauma expressions across cultures, how cultural humility is integrated so that fear, grief, or distress expressed differently across communities is understood—not misread—and how organizations reduce the risk of re-traumatization in healthcare, behavioral health, courts, child welfare, and trafficking response settings. It also means acknowledging vicarious trauma—the cumulative toll repeated exposure to others’ pain takes on interpreters themselves—and building systems that sustain trauma-informed practice as a lasting professional standard, not a one-time training event.

“MasterWord is honored to be formally recognized as a Trauma-Informed Organization with Level 2 certification,” said Ludmila ‘Mila’ Golovine, President and CEO of MasterWord. “Trauma-informed awareness strengthens communication and supports all involved. Understanding how trauma affects communication, behavior and memory is key to improving outcomes.”

“When we invest in helping interpreters understand the effects of trauma while also supporting their own wellbeing, everyone benefits: the professionals they serve, the organizations they support, and most importantly, the individuals whose voices deserve to be heard accurately. That is what Level 2 certification represents in practice.”

“MasterWord’s achievement is a testament to what forward-thinking, innovative leadership looks like in practice,” said Mary Beth Fisk, CEO of The Ecumenical Center. “Trauma-informed care begins with a simple but powerful shift—from asking ‘What is wrong with this person?’ to asking ‘What has happened to this person?’ MasterWord embraced that shift not just as a philosophy, but as an organizational commitment—embedding it into how they train their people, how they support their staff, and how they show up for every client they serve. That is exactly the kind of authentic, deep commitment this certification is designed to recognize and celebrate.”

Fisk continued: “We encourage organizations of every kind—healthcare systems, schools, courts, businesses, nonprofits, faith communities—to explore what trauma-informed certification could mean for them. When clients feel safe, confident, and valued in every interaction, outcomes improve. When staff understand the impact of trauma, workplace culture strengthens. Trauma-informed care is not a clinical specialty reserved for behavioral health providers. It is a standard of human-centered practice that any organization can pursue—and that every organization’s clients and employees deserve.”

For ECRH, MasterWord’s achievement signals something significant for the language services profession and for the organizations they serve. Healthcare systems, courts, schools, and child-serving agencies invest significantly in trauma-informed care training for their own staff. The language professionals present in those same rooms—often the only connection between a provider and a patient, a judge and a defendant, a caseworker and a child—have historically been outside the scope of that training.

That gap has real consequences. A trauma-informed provider working with a language professional who is not trained in trauma-informed communication creates a break in the chain of care. MasterWord’s certification is a direct response to that gap—and a model for what the language services profession can and should aspire to.

Organizations interested in learning more about ECRH’s Trauma-Informed Certification program and how to begin the process are encouraged to visit ecrh.org or reach out directly to Sarah Kotzur at Skotzur@ecrh.org.

Leslie Komet Ausburn
Komet Marketing Communications, Inc
+1 210-326-8992
Leslie@kometcommunications.com

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