INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES

Interviews

1. Directive.
2. nondirective

The Interview as a Test

 Reciprocal Nature of Interviewing

Social facilitation, we tend to act like the models around us (see Augustine, 2011). If
the interviewer is tense, anxious, defensive, and aloof, then the interviewee tends to
respond in kind. Thus, if the interviewer wishes to create conditions of openness,
warmth, acceptance, comfort, calmness, and support, then he or she must exhibit
these qualities.
 Principles of Effective Interviewing
The Proper Attitudes
The session received a good evaluation by both participants when the patient
saw the interviewer as warm, open, concerned, involved, committed, and
interested, regardless of subject matter or the type or severity of the problem.
On the other hand, independent of all other factors, when the interviewer was
seen as cold, defensive, uninterested, uninvolved, aloof, and bored, the session
was rated poorly. To appear effective and establish rapport, the interviewer
must display the proper attitudes
Good interviewing is actually more a matter of attitude than skill (Duan &
Kivlighan, 2002). Experiments in social psychology have shown that
interpersonalinfluence (the degree to which one person can influence another)
is related to interpersonal attraction (the degree to which people share a
feeling of understanding, mutual respect, similarity, and the like) (Dillard &
Marshall, 2003). Attitudes related to good interviewing skills include warmth,
genuineness, acceptance, understanding,
openness, honesty, and fairness.
Responses to Avoid
As a rule, however, making interviewees feel uncomfortable tends to place them on
guard, and guarded or anxious interviewees tend to reveal little information about
themselves. If the goal is to elicit as much information as possible or to receive a
good rating from the interviewee, then interviewers should avoid certain responses,
including judgmental or evaluative statements, probing statements, hostility, and
false reassurance.
 
Judgmental or evaluative statements are particularly likely to inhibit the
interviewee. Being judgmental means evaluating the thoughts, feelings, or actions
of another. When we use such terms as good, bad, excellent, terrible, disgusting,
disgraceful, and stupid, we make evaluative statements
 
- Most interviewers should also avoid probing statements. phrase a probing
statement is to ask a question that begins with “Why?” Asking “Why?” tends to
place others on the defensive
- replacing them with “Tell me” or “How?” statements
The hostile statement directs anger toward the interviewee. Clearly, one
should avoid such responses unless one has a specific purpose, such as determining
how an interviewee responds to anger.
The reassuring statement attempts to comfort or support the interviewee: “Don’t worry.
Everything will be all right.” Though reassurance is sometimes appropriate, you should almost
always avoid false reassurance. For example, imagine a friend of yours flunks out of college,
loses her job, and gets kicked out of her home by her parents. You are lying to this person
when you say, “Don’t worry; no problem; it’s okay.” This false reassurance does nothing to help
your friend except perhaps make her realize that you are not going to help her.
Effective Responses
One major principle of effective interviewing is keeping the interaction flowing.
The interview is a two-way process; one person speaks first, then the other, and
so on
Responses to Keep the Interaction Flowing
To make such a response, the interviewer may use any of the following types of statements:
verbatim playback, paraphrasing, restatement, summarizing, clarifying, and understanding.
Measuring Understanding

to measure understanding or empathy originated with Carl Rogers’s seminal

research into the effects of client-centered therapy It culminated in a 5-point
scoring system
 
Each level in this system represents a degree of empathy. The levels range
from a response that bears little or no relationship to the previous statement
to a response that captures the precise meaning and feeling of the
statement.
Level-One Responses
Level-one responses bear little or no relationship to the interviewee’s response
 
Level-Two Responses
The level-two response communicates a superficial awareness of the meaning of a
statement. The individual who makes a level-two response never quite goes
beyond his or her own limited perspective. Level-two responses impede the flow
of communication.
 
Level-Three Responses
A level-three response is interchangeable with the interviewee’s statement.
According to Carkhuff and Berenson (1967), level three is the minimum level of
responding that can help the interviewee. Paraphrasing, verbatim playback,
clarification statements, and restatements are all examples of level-three
responses.
 
Level-Four and Level-Five Responses
Level-four and level-five responses not only provide accurate empathy but also go
beyond the statement given. In a level-four response, the interviewer adds
“noticeably” to the interviewee’s response
 
Active Listening
An impressive array of research has accumulated to document the power of the
understanding response. This type of responding, sometimes called active
listening, is the foundation of good interviewing
skills for many different types of interviews
 Types of Interviews

Evaluation Interview
A confrontation is a statement that points out a discrepancy or inconsistency. Though
confrontation is usually most appropriate in therapeutic interviews, all experienced interviewers
should have this technique at their disposal
 
Carkhuff (1969) distinguished among three types:
(1) a discrepancy between what the person is and what he or she wants to become,
(2) a discrepancy between what the person says about himself or herself and what he or she
does, and (3) a discrepancy between the person’s perception of himself or herself and the
interviewer’s experience
of the person
 
Structured Clinical Interviews
a structured clinical interview is the best practice for postpartum depression screening;
Structured interviews lend themselves to scoring procedures from which norms can be
developed and applied. Typically, cutoff scores are used so that a particular score indicates the
presence or absence of a
given condition.
Case History Interview
To obtain a complete case
history—that is, a biographical sketch—one often needs to ask specific questions. Case
history data may include a chronology of major events in the person’s life, a work
history, a medical history, and a family history. A family history should include a
complete listing of the ages and genders of each member of the immediate family. One
should also note whether any family members—including parents, grandparents,
uncles, aunts, and siblings—have had difficulties similar to those of the interviewee
 
Mental Status Examination
An important tool in psychiatric and neurological examinations, the mental status
examination is used primarily to diagnose psychosis, brain damage, and other major
mental health problems. Its purpose is to evaluate a person suspected of having
neurological or emotional problems in terms of variables known to be related to these
problems.
 
 
THE INTERVIEW
 
Assessment interview One of the most basic techniques employed by the clinical psychologist
for the purpose of answering a referral question. If administered skillfully, the assessment
interview can provide insight into the problem and inform clinical decision making.
 
General Characteristics of Interviews
 
An Interaction. An interview is an interaction between at least two persons. Each participant
contributes to the process, and each influences the responses of the other.
clinical interview is initiated with a goal or set of goals in mind. The interviewer approaches the
interaction purposefully, bearing the responsibility for keeping the interview on track and
moving toward the goal.
 
Interviews Versus Tests
The hallmark of psychological testing is the collection of data under standardized conditions by
means of explicit procedures. Most interviews, however, make provision for at least some
flexibility. Thus, a unique characteristic of the interview method is the wider opportunity it
provides for an individualized approach that will be effective in eliciting data from a particular
person or patient
Interviewing Essentials and Techniques:
 
1. The Physical Arrangements
Two of the most important considerations are privacy and protection frominterruptions
 
2. Note-Taking and Recording
 
All contacts with clients ultimately need to be documented. However, there is some debate
over whether notes should be taken during an interview.
a moderate amount of note-taking seems worthwhile
 
3. Rapport
rapport A word often used to characterize the relationship between patient and clinician. In
the
context of the clinical interview, building good rapport involves establishing a comfortable
atmosphere and sharing an understanding of the purpose of the interview.
 
4. Communication
 
Beginning a Session- a brief conversation designed to relax things before plunging
into the patient’s reasons for coming will usually facilitate a good interview.
 
Language. - Some initial estimate of the patient’s background, educational level, or
general sophistication should be made. The kind of language employed should then
reflect that judgment
The Use of Questions-

Maloney and Ward (1976) observed that the clinician’s questions may become
progressively more structured as the interview proceeds
Silence- silences can mean many things. The important point is to assess the meaning and
function of silence in the context of the specific interview. The clinician’s response to
silence should be reasoned and responsive to the goals of the interview rather than to
personal needs or insecurities. (silence is indicative of some resistance, or the client is
organizing)
 
Listening - If we are to communicate effectively in the clinician’s role, our communication
must reflect understanding and acceptance. The skilled clinician is one who has learned
when to be an active listener.
 
Gratification of Self –
The clinical interview is not the time or the place for clinicians to work out their own
problems. clinicians must resist the temptation to shift the focus to themselves. Rather,
their focus must remain on the patient.
The Impact of the Clinician
Each of us has a characteristic impact on others, both socially and professionally. As a
result, the same behavior in different clinicians is unlikely to provoke the same response
from a patient
 
The Clinician’s Values and Background - clinicians must examine their own experiences
and seek the bases for their own assumptions before making clinical judgments of others.
What to the clinician may appear to be evidence of severe pathology may actually reflect
the patient’s culture. (or gender sensitivity)
 
 
The Patient’s Frame of Reference
the patient views the first meeting(or the whole process)is important. It may affect the
interview.
A patient may have an entirely distorted notion of the clinic and even be ashamed of
having to seek help. For many individuals, going to see a clinical psychologist arouses
feelings of inadequacy.
there are patients who start with a view of the clinician as a kind of savior
 
 
The Clinician’s Frame of Reference
clinician should have carefully gone over any existing records on the patient, checked the
information provided by the person who arranged the appointment,and so on. “Be
prepared.”
clinician should be perfectly clear about the purpose of the interview.(basis of referral)
the clinician must remain focused.