Risk for the interviewer has different aspects, as shown by case examples. In several situations, interviewers have expressed distress because they are exposed to very difficult and traumatic experiences presented to them by a respondent during the research interview. Four case examples demonstrate approaches to minimizing and managing emotional distress on the part of the interviewer and emphasize the importance of properly recruiting research personnel, conducting initial and ongoing interviewer training, and structuring regular interviewer team meetings. The authors point out that the emotional health of both the respondent and the interviewer should always take priority over data collection. 18 references and 1 table