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Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake

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Interviewing Skills The skills that are necessary for effective (and efficient) intake are the focus of Chapter Five. In addition, a section of this chapter will introduce you to concepts that will help you talk with a particular client group—children. Exercise 1 Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers During an interview, the interviewer demonstrates attitudes of the self and other. One way to learn about these attitudes and characteristics is to watch others conduct interviews. 1. Select two television programs that include interviews; for example, PBS NewsHour, the Sunday morning network news shows, and talk shows such as Larry King Live and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Watch interview segments that last approximately five minutes. 2. Describe the following: Show: _______________ Date: _______________ Setting: _____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Interviewee(s): ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Interviewers: ______________________________________________ Show:_______________ Date: _______________ Setting: ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Interviewee(s): ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Interviewers: ______________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Now compare the two interview styles you observed in terms of greetings, questioning, control, and setting. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. What did you like or dislike about each interview? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________.

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Interviewing Skills The skills that are necessary for effective (and efficient) intake are the focus of Chapter Five. In addition, a section of this chapter will introduce you to concepts that will help you talk with a particular client group—children. Exercise 1 Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers During an interview, the interviewer demonstrates attitudes of the self and other. One way to learn about these attitudes and characteristics is to watch others conduct interviews. 1. Select two television programs that include interviews; for example, PBS NewsHour, the Sunday morning network news shows, and talk shows such as Larry King Live and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Watch interview segments that last approximately five minutes. 2. Describe the following: Show: _______________ Date: _______________ Setting: _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Interviewee(s): ___________________________________________
_____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Interviewers: ______________________________________________ Show:_______________ Date: _______________ Setting: ___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Interviewee(s): ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
Interviewers: ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 3. Now compare the two interview styles you observed in terms of greetings, questioning, control, and setting. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
4. What did you like or dislike about each interview? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Exercise 2 When I Was the Stranger The purpose of this exercise is to help you identify what it is like to be different or to be a stranger in a specific environment. Answering the following questions will help you identify and explore that experience. This will help you understand how a client may feel on a first visit to an agency. 1. Describe a time when you felt you were “different,” a stranger or an outcast. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
_____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 2. How did you react in this situation? How did you feel? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 3. What did you think others were communicating to you? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
_____________________________________________________ _______ 4. What did you communicate to them? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Exercise 3 Developing Cultural Sensitivities Review the section on cultural sensitivity in Chapter Four. 1. Several potential client groups are discussed. With which one would you be least comfortable? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 2.
Describe a scenario where you are conducting an intake interview with a client in this particular client group. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 3. Identify three reasons that you might have difficulty interviewing this client. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 4. Put yourself in the client’s place and describe the client’s thoughts prior to coming in for the interview. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
_____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 5. Answer the following questions about your description of the client’s point of view. · What was the experience of writing as if you were the client like for you? _______________________________________________ _____________ ______________________________________ ______________________ _____________________________ _______________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ___________ _________________________________________________ · What have you learned from this experience about your own cultural sensitivity? _________________________________________ ___________________ ________________________________ ____________________________ _______________________ _____________________________________ ______________ ______________________________________________ _____ _____________________________________________________ __ Exercise 4 Using Language the Client Understands The following quote is a helper’s explanation of the services available and the purpose of the interview. 1. Read the following remarks at the beginning of an intake interview where the helper summarizes program services: I am glad that you are here today. I want to tell you about our services that we may be able to offer you. First is the Bridges program. It provides a case worker, a helper, and vouchers, and you become part of our Helpers program. If you are able to work through Phase One: Learning and Developing Skills, then
you will be eligible for Phase Two. In Phase Two, we will develop your case in multiple ways so that you can be an applicant for Phase Three. Now, Phase Three is for your whole family except for the members who do not qualify and fall into our nonstandard category. We have criteria for each of these phases. Now that you have a summary of our services, I am going to ask you some questions to see if you qualify for services. 2. Re-read the helper’s statement. It is not very clear, is it? Review the statement and circle all of the phases that you believe might have been unclear to the client. For each item circled, suggest an alternative statement that presents the information about the agency and its services more clearly. ___________________________________________________ _________ __________________________________________ __________________ _________________________________ ___________________________ ________________________ ____________________________________ _______________ _____________________________________________ ______ _____________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________ __________ _________________________________________ ___________________ Exercise 5 Active Listening Using active listening or attending behavior with a client is one way to communicate to the client that he or she is important. Using various gestures and nonverbal signals, the helper allows the client to choose the path of the conversation while paying attention to the message the client is conveying. 1. Select a friend who is willing to help you. 2. Ask the friend to talk to you about an event, situation, or problem he or she does not mind sharing. Find a quiet spot so that the two of you are not interrupted. 3. Use the SOLER behaviors presented in your text as you listen to your friend talk. 4. After you have practiced your active listening, describe to
your friend what it was like to listen using this technique. Then ask your friend to share his or her experience. Your experiences: ________________________________________ ____________________ _______________________________ _____________________________ ______________________ ______________________________________ _____________ _______________________________________________ ____ _____________________________________________________ ___ Your friend’s experiences: ________________________________________ ____________________ _______________________________ _____________________________ ______________________ ______________________________________ _____________ _______________________________________________ ____ _____________________________________________________ ___ Exercise 6 Questioning Chapter Four describes five situations when questions are appropriate and relevant. 1. Review the five situations. 2. Practice your questioning skills by formulating five appropriate questions for each of the following case examples. Case 1 Brigitta is an angry, frustrated client who has been living on her own with her two young sons in community housing for over a year. She believes the feelings she is experiencing are a reaction to her mother constantly calling her, asking her to come by, and wanting her to account for her time. She decides to see a human service professional because she is at the end of her rope. As the helper explores this situation with Brigitta, however, she discovers that Brigitta’s father died six months ago. Her mother is lonely and mourning, and Brigitta, who moved out three months before he died, feels guilty not only about moving out but also about not returning home when her mother needs her. To begin: _____________________________________________________
_______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To obtain information: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To focus: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To clarify: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To identify client strengths: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Case 2 Rena has always had a problem with obesity. She has had diabetes since she was 11 and has fought her overweight
condition and high blood pressure since she was a teenager. She starts each new diet with great enthusiasm, but she soon returns to her old eating habits. Rena is beginning a new diet developed by a leading movie star, and she has great hopes. She tries not to remember the 400 pounds she has lost and regained in the past 10 years. To begin: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To obtain information: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To focus: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To clarify: _____________________________________________________ _______
_____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To identify client strengths: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Case 3 Jim joined a smoking cessation group at the medical center a month ago. As all participants do initially, Jim told the group about his tobacco habit and stated that his wife was adamant that he quit. He and his wife became parents for the first time two months ago, and she fears the effects of smoke on the baby. It was only last night, though, that Jim shared with the group his worries about beginning a topical precancerous treatment on his face and about his baby’s lack of response to stimuli. To begin: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To obtain information: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
_____________________________________________________ _______ To focus: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To clarify: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To identify client strengths: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Exercise 7 Responding After reading the following examples, write three different responses: a paraphrase, a clarification, and an open-ended question. Helping Situation 1 I can’t seem to keep my mind on my work these days. I forget what I am doing, I find myself staring out the window, my kids keep yelling at me, I can’t get my work completed. I know that my boss is not pleased with me. I’m not pleased with myself. Everyone is giving me a hard time. I don’t sleep very well. I am a mess. Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______
_____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Helping Situation 2 My momma told me that I had to come to see you. My teacher found out that I was coming, and she told me to tell you what I knew about my dad. I am not sure what to say. My daddy loves me. He says that he loves me special. Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Helping Situation 3 I am not sure what the problem is (pause) ... I just don’t know.... Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Helping Situation 4 Mom and dad are not doing too well. Mom cannot dress herself anymore, and she needs help to prepare her food. She cannot remember what day it is, forgets to take her medicines, and does not know many of her friends. Dad is taking care of her as best as he can, but his abilities are limited, too. He is worn out from caring for her, and he does not have
time to do anything for himself. We are crazy from worry. Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ In More Depth: Talking With Children There are multiple ways that helpers provide services to children in need either by supporting families who have children with special needs or by working directly with children. Children begin the helping process with an intake interview, much the same way that adults do. Many helpers indicate that, although the focus of service is the child, they gather information from other sources such as parents, school officials, and written case records. Ultimately, most helpers also want to hear from the child. Children have particular physical, cognitive, and social developmental characteristics; because they are a unique population, special knowledge, skills, and values are required of the helper to conduct this first interview. This section provides information on the characteristics of
children between ages 6 and 12, what psychologists label middle childhood, and presents guidelines for talking with these children, especially for the first time in the intake interview. This age range is a unique time in a child’s life: “Keep in mind that the school child’s head is not where yours is. It’s not just a matter of physical growth—it’s perhaps more a matter of intellectual change—the fact their intellectual feet are still not firmly grounded. Too, their heads may be closer to the clouds. And perhaps that’s why they see magic more clearly than we adults do” (LeFrancois, 2001, p. 374). Let’s look at the physical, cognitive, and social development for children in middle childhood, as well as the problems or challenges they may experience. Physical Growth There are physical measures important to note in children in middle childhood. A marked growth spurt occurs as girls, on average, gain more weight and height. Both girls and boys decrease their fatty mass as their bone and muscle develop; this trend is consistent with good nutrition. Children also continue to develop their fine and gross motor skills. The increase in physical abilities allows them to expand their interest in creative efforts and sports requiring coordination and physical strength. Obesity emerges as a problem for many children this age due to overeating (Lamerez, Kuepper, & Bruning, 2005), poor nutrition, lack of physical activity (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn, & Hammer, 2009), cultural or psychological factors, such as using food as a reward or a punishment, and genetic factors (Malina & Bouchard, 1991). Other physical problems are sensory-related, such as visual or hearing impairments and difficulties linked to such diseases as muscular dystrophy and diabetes. Children are also reaching puberty at younger ages. This change in physical maturation is problematic because cognitive and social development remain the same (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Cognitive Development Two important concepts help explain cognitive development in
middle childhood: the use of concrete operations and intelligence. Children who are able to think concretely demonstrate skills such as engaging in conversations, performing reversible thinking, using rules of logic, and understanding concepts based upon concrete objects of their past experiences (Piaget, 1960). Children have conversations; they engage in dialogue, listen, and respond appropriately. They take turns in conversation and demonstrate an interest in others. The following conversation between two 7-year-olds during school playtime illustrates this: SUZIE: Can I have your hammer? JORGE: I am using it. SUZIE: What are you making? JORGE: A puzzle with this wood. SUZIE: Okay. But I want the hammer. JORGE: Not now. I am busy. Children also perform reversible thinking; this means that they may have an idea or understanding and then change that understanding. The following conversation illustrates the change of thinking when Paula, age 9, discusses the subject of ghosts with her mom. Note that her mother uses a concrete illustration of a ghost, instead of an abstract idea. PAULA: Are you scared during Halloween? I mean, if I am a ghost. MOM: Is there something that makes you feel scared? PAULA: Ms. Brewer at school says that after Halloween all of the ghosts will disappear. MOM: Paula, let me show you what she means. See this ghost that I made for the door? After tonight I will take it down and put it away. Here, let me show you. (Mom takes the ghost down, puts it away, and shuts the closet where she puts it.) PAULA: But I think that I will disappear. MOM: Here, let’s practice putting on your costume and then taking it off and putting it away. [They do this.] There, now you know that disappearing ghosts means putting away decorations and costumes.
PAULA: Can I make the kitty disappear? MOM: Well, the kitty can go outside and you will not be able to see her. But we still have to take care of her. She is still there. Because children are beginning to use logic, they can use it to make sense of their world. They also have the ability to use rules of logic to construct knowledge. In the conversation above, Paula is learning about the concept of disappear. Because it is an abstract concept, her mom uses concrete examples to explain what the concept disappear means, as it relates to her “being a ghost” for Halloween. Paula uses a rule of logic to extend the concept of disappear to the kitty. In this example, her mother must help Paula understand that the rules of logic for the ghost disappearing do not apply to the kitty. MOM: Paula, let the kitty out. Now has the kitty disappeared? PAULA: I know where she is. When she goes out, she has a favorite place to sleep in the sun. MOM: Why don’t you check and see if the kitty is there? (Paula checks.) PAULA: Yup, she’s there. MOM: Has she disappeared? PAULA: Nope. I can’t see her from the window, but I know where she is. Children from 6 to 12 years of age recall information from the past. They display long-term memory as they ride a bicycle, play video games, and make baskets at the free-throw line during a basketball game. As children tell stories about themselves or recall specific actions from the past, they show their autobiographical memory (Brouillet & Lepine, 2005). Intelligence provides another way professionals consider children’s cognitive abilities. One theory is that intelligence is a quality or a measure of functioning and is based upon characteristics or traits. General intelligence focuses abilities that are innate within the individual and include solving problems, reasoning, and analyzing. Specific intelligence includes abilities such as knowledge of vocabulary, general information, and arithmetic skills (Engle, Tuholski, Laughlin, &
Conway, 1999). Another way of viewing intelligence is by seeing how individuals adapt to the world. This approach, called successful intelligence, considers the context of intelligence and the control of the environment. This means that children choose the environments in which they function and then change them (Sternberg, 2008). Children demonstrate successful intelligence as they choose their friends, change their social interactions from setting to setting, and decide what they do in their spare time. Understanding a child’s intelligence may assist a helper prepare for an initial contact with a child. A child’s written case file may contain scores from more traditional intelligence tests such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Alternative information about successful intelligence or multiple intelligence may be gained during the initial interview and may help the helping professional choose ways in which to communicate and establish rapport. Often professionals use tests to determine the intelligence of children. A later chapter addresses the use of tests to measure specific traits. There is also a caution about how to use test results in interpreting what we know about clients. This caution applies equally to the children helpers test. Social Development Areas of social cognition, self-esteem, and relationships represent the social development of children in middle childhood. From the age of 6 until 12, children change how they view themselves in relation to others. Children begin to see that others have a point of view, but also believe others would change to theirs if they knew what it was. Children then change to a self-reflective point of view where they acknowledge both their own and others’ points of view. Finally, they adopt a mutual point of view (Feldman, 2010). Once they understand the points of view of others, they may be willing to consider differences, express empathy, and facilitate self-change. The mutual point of view is just beginning to develop during the latter stages of middle childhood.
Understanding the self-esteem of children provides helpers with information about children and how they feel about their competencies and self-worth. Children usually have a general sense of their overall worth. Then they judge themselves according to specific competencies, such as their scholastic ability, athletic competence, social acceptance, behavioral conduct, and physical appearance (Feldman, 2010). Judgments about self-worth are founded on how children would like to be and how they believe others view them. The opinions of parents, influential adults, and friends are most important. Physical appearance is often one of the most important areas. Self-worth is linked to self-concept, emotion and mood, and motivation. A positive sense of self-worth is related to a good self-concept, happiness, and self-efficacy. A negative sense of self-worth is related to low self-concept, unhappiness, and depression. Friendships become increasingly important during middle childhood, especially in the preteen years. Best friends and a circle of friends contribute to the social development of the child. Five categories of social status describe the different experiences children have with friendships (Gottman, 1977). The “sociometric stars” are liked by a majority of their peers. The “mixers” interact often with their peers; some are well- liked and some are not. The “teacher negatives” experience conflicts with their teachers; some are liked and some are not. The “tuned out” are less involved with peers and ignored. The “sociometric rejectees” are not liked very much. If a child is rejected by peers, reactions include anger, retaliation, and aggression. Children without friends suffer from depression, bullying, and loneliness (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2003). Victimization of children is a serious problem that affects a child’s growth and development. There are several types of victimization (Finkelhor & Dziuba-Leatherman, 1994). Pandemic victimization describes the occasional suffering related to high-profile kidnapping or violent crime. Acute victimization includes physical abuse, neglect, emotional
maltreatment, medical neglect, and sexual abuse, and it is fairly prevalent in our society (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2003). There are physical and psychological consequences of acute victimization, such as emotional withdrawal, aggressiveness, truancy, delinquency, poor school achievement, and poor social relationships. Before we introduce ideas about how to talk with children in middle childhood, let’s explore information about child development that might be helpful to you. Exercise 8 James and Samantha 1. List the facts that you believe are most relevant to you as you conduct an intake interview with children ages 6 to 12. Physical Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Cognitive Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Social Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ 2. Read the following summary about James and Samantha. You also read about James and Samantha in Chapter Three. James
and Samantha James is 10 years old and his sister, Samantha, is 8. Both attend Boone Elementary School and were living with their aunt and uncle; their parents are in prison. In the middle of the school year, the aunt told the children that they were going to move that evening. The children picked up their clothes and a few toys and moved into a shelter. They didn’t know that this was a shelter for women and children who were being abused. The children were brokenhearted to leave their school. They had good friends there. Samantha says that she understands why she needs to go to another school, but James is angry that he has to transfer. Finally, the staff at the shelter tried to work out transportation back to the school, but school officials told the children’s aunt that they could not transfer back into the old district. The school specialist has referred James and Samantha to you. 3. Review the child development facts that you listed in Question 1. How would each of those facts help you interview James and Samantha? Add any facts that you did not list for Question 1. Physical Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Cognitive Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Social Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________
_______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Now that you have studied child development for children in middle childhood, let’s look at guidelines for talking with children in this stage of development. Guidelines for the Intake Interview Helpers who are beginning their work with young clients often need to shift their thinking from “working with clients” to “working with children.” Many times when a professional uses the term “client,” an adult male or female comes to mind. Because of their age and lack of experience, working with children requires special care and consideration. There is an immediate power differential because young children are taught to have respect for adults, especially for those in authority. Children are involved in a developmental process; successful helpers consider where the child is in the developmental framework and begin the helping process with the child’s ability and level of development in mind. Getting Ready for the Intake Interview In some ways, beginning the intake interview occurs before the child comes to the office or before the helper visits the child. The helper prepares the physical space to make the child comfortable. This preparation also helps the helper establish rapport. Here are some guidelines to follow when preparing the room in which the intake interview will take place (Henderson & Thompson, 2011): · Provide a relaxed atmosphere. This means use comfortable chairs and tables that are child-size and child-friendly. Set the furniture so the child can be face-to-face with you and not have to look up. · Provide an atmosphere that is bright and not too cluttered. Children love bright colors and decorations with animals, dolls, and animated characters with which they are familiar. · Establish a spacious atmosphere. Leave open space in the
room. Do not put a desk or table between you and the child. · Provide a barrier that the child can use to create a safe distance from you if needed. This means that the child can choose where to put the chair, or can hold a pillow or a blanket, or can move a table between you and him or her. · Have toys, drawing material, desk, and dolls that might help facilitate conversation. You will use these materials to involve the child in activities. Usually, helpers gain information as the child draws, paints, role plays, or the like. Even preteens may want to use art or music to talk about their situations rather than just engage in conversation. Also, games and other materials indicate to children that your space is a good place for them. These suggestions are still relevant if the helper is meeting the child or the family at the home. Sometimes the helper can talk with the family about arranging a special room for the meeting, indicating that a place where the child would be comfortable is optimal. The child may be nervous at the first interview. At the very least, children may have questions about the helping process and what is expected of them. Children often have questions that differ from those of adults. Many times children do not have a choice about receiving services. Even though the helper, and perhaps the parents, knows that the child will benefit from services, the child does not understand this. Here are some questions the child may have (Henderson & Thompson, 2011): · What is helping? · Why do I have to do this? · What’s wrong with me? · Will this hurt? Will I get a shot? Medicine? · Do I have to go? · Do I have to do this just once? · What do I do? These questions indicate fear of a new situation, talking to a stranger, and answering questions and not understanding the helping process and the need for it. You must be able to answer
these questions using language that children can understand. Here are some ways to approach these questions: CHILD: What is helping? HELPER: I am a professional helper. My job is to help you. I am going to... CHILD: Why do I have to do this? HELPER: People who care about you think I could help you. CHILD: What is wrong with me? HELPER: I don’t think anything is wrong. My work is to get others to help you. CHILD: Will this hurt? Will I get a shot? Medicine? HELPER: I will not hurt you. Today we are going to talk and play. I want to know you better. CHILD: Do I have to go? HELPER: I am not sure where you will go. If you have to go anywhere, someone you know will go with you. CHILD: Do I have to do this just once? HELPER: You and I will see each other today. Then we will decide what else we need to do. CHILD: What do I do? HELPER: We can start by drawing this picture. Can you draw your family and your house? The Focus of the Interview As discussed earlier, any information that you can learn about the child before the initial interview helps you prepare. Two factors guide your initial interview with the child: the goal of your interview and the information you need to obtain. For example, if you are working with a child who has a chronic illness, you may need to engage the child to establish a relationship, determine how the child is feeling physically, what the child knows about his or her medical situation, and what social and emotional effects the illness has on the child. Of course, other sources of information may include parents and medical staff. Another child may be eligible to receive services because he or she is living in foster care while his or her parents are incarcerated. Interviewing this child for the first
time, the helper may focus on the emotional status of the child, his or her comfort with the foster care family, and knowledge of the child’s parents’ situation. Additional sources of information may be the department of human services; the public schools, if appropriate; information about the foster parents; and the status of parents in the criminal justice system. Regardless of the situation, the focus of the initial interview is establishing rapport with the child, exploring what the child currently understands about the situation, understanding the strengths of the child, understanding the fears and concerns of the child, and explaining the helping process. Exercise 9 The Case of Tannie and Lindie The following case lets you apply the concepts to conduct an intake interview with children in middle childhood. I received a call from Inez Tucker, the principal of the local elementary school in our county. She and I had worked together before on several cases involving students for whom home life is particularly difficult. Since the implementation of “No Child Left Behind,” each school in the school district targets students who are in danger of failing and tries to address barriers to their academic success. Often, these barriers involve home and neighborhood factors, as well as individual social and emotional problems. Inez asked if she could meet me for lunch, explaining that she had a complicated case that would take about 30 minutes to explain and discuss. I met Inez at our appointed time at a small café downtown. The owner saved us a corner table in the back where we could talk without interruption and without being overheard. Confidentiality is important for both of us. Inez came with only a few notes and started by explaining how difficult this case was for her. “Two weeks into the school term, a young mother brought her two children, Tannie and Lindie, to school. None of them spoke English. Speaking what we took for a South American Indian dialect, the mother tried to communicate. Three teachers in our school speak fluent Spanish, and two are native speakers. None
of them spoke the indigenous dialect. After considerable effort on the part of several of us, including the three Spanish- speaking teachers, to talk with the children and the mother, I asked a kitchen aide to join the conversation. He speaks a mixture of Indian dialect and Spanish. The teacher also asked the children to join the conversation. Although the aide could not translate exactly what their mother and the children said, he could help us understand some of the conversation.” Inez took out her notes and read to me the following facts that she believes she has learned about this situation: · The children, both girls, are 9 and 10 years of age. · The mother and the girls live three blocks from the school. · The mother has no job. · The mother can neither read nor write. · The children can neither read nor write. · The family has no permanent records. · The children have never attended school. Inez continued her story: “Since the girls have been coming to school, they have been receiving special tutoring. They go to class in the morning, but after an hour’s time, they begin to walk around the classroom. The teacher walks them down to my office. I have begun to let them play with toys in my office until the resource teacher comes to get them. She is working to teach them the alphabet, and she is teaching them words that might be useful to them. They have been in school five weeks now and they have come to school about half of that time. They really don’t understand the language and they don’t understand the culture of the school. “I know that there are lots of needs, both for the family and for the girls. But right now I just want to hear from them about how they are doing. I would love to have more information about them, so I can understand what they are going through, how they like school, and what we can do for them.” Inez then asked me if I would interview them. I would begin my work with an intake interview. I scheduled a time to talk with the girls after gaining the
mother’s permission to do so. I decided to interview both of them together. I thought that they would be more comfortable meeting with me together. To prepare, I followed three steps: considering current knowledge of the children; considering knowledge of developmental issues; considering use of an interpreter. Preparing for the Interview Review the discussion on attitudes and characteristics of interviewers in Chapter Four and the guidelines for interviewing children in this chapter. With this information in mind, create a plan for the interview, using the following questions to guide your thinking: 1. Based upon what Inez has told you about the case and what she wishes to know about the girls, what are your goals for this interview with Tannie and Lindie? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 2. How will you demonstrate that you are sensitive to Tannie and Lindie’s culture? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________
___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 3. How do you think that Tannie and Lindie feel about the upcoming meeting with you? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 4. Describe the ideal setting for the interview. _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 5. What climate would you like to establish? How will you do so? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________
_____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 6. How will you begin the interview or the greeting? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 7. What activities or play will you use in your time with Tannie and Lindie? How does your approach help you meet the goals that you established in Question 1? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ Working with an Interpreter As you begin to prepare for the interview with Tannie and Lindie, you realize that you will need an interpreter. The likely candidate is the aide. Because you already speak fluent Spanish and are fairly fluent in French, you have never needed an interpreter. You find an article about interpreters in a professional journal and read it to see if you can discover any guidelines that might help you plan and conduct this interview.
Go to the website that accompanies this book: www.cengagebrain.com/shop/ISBN/1111298432. Read the article “Working with Sign Language Interpreters in Human Service Settings.” This article will help you understand the role of interpreters. Answer the following questions. 1. What is the role of an interpreter? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 2. What does the interpreter not do? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 3. You will need to ask the custodian if he would be willing to be an interpreter for this intake interview. What will you tell him? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________
_____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 4. Review the plans that you made for the intake interview with Tannie and Lindie. How does having an interpreter present change those plans? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ Self-Assessment As you reflect on what you have read and practiced in Chapters Four and Five, think about your responses to the following questions: 1. When you think about conducting an interview, what do you believe are the most important attitudes and characteristics? 2. How will you balance the need to gather information about the client with the need to listen carefully? 3. What is different about interviewing children? 4. Explain how you might use an interpreter to interview a client. Describe your role. References
Brouillet, P., & Lepine, R. (2005). Working memory and children’s use of retrieval to solve addition problems. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 91(3), 183–204. Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E., & Conway, A. R. A. (1999). Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128, 309–331. Feldman, R. S. (2010). Child development (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Finkelhor, D., & Dziuba-Leatherman, J. (1994). Victimization of children. American Psychologist, 49, 173–183. Gottman, J. M. (1977). Toward a definition of social isolation in children. Child Development, 48, 513–517. Henderson, D. & Thompson C. (2011). Counseling children (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Lamerez, A., Kuepper, N., & Bruning, N. (2005). Prevalence of obesity, binge eating, and night eating in a cross-sectional field survey of 6-year-old children and their parents in a German urban population. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 46(4), 385–93. LeFrancois, G. R. (2001). Of children (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Malina, R. M., & Bourchard, C. (1991). Subcutaneous fat distribution during growth. In C. Bouchard & F. D. Johnston (Eds.), Fat distribution during growth and later health outcomes. New York: Liss. Piaget, J. (1960). The child’s conception of the world. London: Routledge. Shaffer, K., & Kipp, D. (2010). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth. Sternberg, R. J. (2008). Cognitive psychology (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2003). Bullying is not a fact of life. Retrieved from
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/svp-0052 Weiten, W., Lloyd, M.A., Dunn, D. S., & Hammer, E. Y. (2009). Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st century (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. The Helping Process. Assessment to Termination Chapter 5: Interviewing Skills ISBN: 9781111298432 Authors: Tricia McClam, Marianne Woodside Copyright © Cengage Learning (2012) Effective Intake Interviewing Intake occurs every Monday morning at 8:00. A pre-intake is a precaution with referrals from the court system. We want to protect our other clients. So these referrals are often on parole or probation and during the pre-intake, I consider attitude, any violent behavior history, and the presence of any communicable diseases. Mission Director, Miami Interviewing is described in the previous chapter as directed conversation or professional conversation. Many helpers consider it an art as well as a skilled technique that can be improved with practice. In the helping process, the intake interview is a starting point for providing help. Its main purpose is to obtain an understanding of the problem, the situation, and the applicant. A clear statement of the goals of the interview helps both participants reach the intended outcomes. In the example above, the goal of intake is to screen referrals for several factors. A number of factors influence interviewing in the helping professions. Some factors apply directly to the interviewer, such as attitudes, characteristics, and communication skills. Others are determined by the agency under whose auspices the interview occurs: the setting, the purpose of the agency, the kinds of information to be gathered, and recordkeeping. This
chapter explores many of these factors. The intake interview is usually the first face-to-face contact between the helper and the applicant. In some agencies, the person who does the intake interview will be the helping professional whose primary responsibility is intake interviews. Interviews are also a part of the subsequent helping process, and some of the skills used in the intake interview apply there, too. This chapter uses the term interviewer to refer to the helping professional who is conducting the interview. This chapter is about effective interviewing: the attitudes and characteristics of interviewers, the skills that make them effective interviewers, how these skills are used in structured interviews, and the pitfalls to avoid when interviewing. We refer you to Figure 4.1 to review the place that intake interviewing has in the helping process. For each section of the chapter, you should be able to accomplish the following objectives. Figure 4.1 The Helping Process · Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers · List two reasons why the attitudes and characteristics of the interviewer are important to the interview process. · Describe four populations of clients that require a culturally sensitive approach. · Name five characteristics that make a good interviewer. · Draw a physical space that encourages positive interactions between the client and the interviewer. · List barriers that discourage a positive interview experience. · Essential Communication Skills · List the essential communication skills that contribute to effective interviewing. · Demonstrate three interviewing skills. · Support the importance of listening as an important interviewing skill. · Offer a rationale for questioning as an art. · Write a dialogue illustrating responses that an interviewer
might use in an intake interview. · Interviewing Pitfalls · Name four interviewing pitfalls. Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers The attitudes and characteristics of an interviewer are particularly important during the initial interview because this meeting marks the beginning of the helping relationship. Research supports the view that the personal characteristics of interviewers can strongly influence the success or failure of helping (Capuzzi & Gross, 2009). In fact, Brammer and MacDonald (2003) concluded after a review of numerous studies that these personal characteristics are as significant in helping as the methods that are used. One approach to the attitudes and characteristics of interviewers focuses on the self and on the treatment of the other person. Those related to self include self-awareness and personal congruence, whereas respect, empathy, and cultural sensitivity are among the attitudes related to treatment of another person. Similarly, elsewhere in the literature, other perspectives on helping attitudes and characteristics have as common themes the ability to communicate, self-awareness, empathy, responsibility, and commitment (Woodside & McClam, 2009). The interviewer communicates a helping attitude to the applicant in several ways, including greeting, eye contact, facial expressions, and friendly responses. The applicant’s perceptions of the interviewer’s feelings are also important in his or her impression of the quality of the interview. Communicating warmth, acceptance, and genuineness promotes a climate that facilitates the exchange of information, which is the primary purpose of the initial interview. The following dialogue illustrates these qualities. INTERVIEWER: (stands as applicant enters) Hello, Mr. Johnson (shakes hands and smiles). My name is Clyde Dunn— call me Clyde. I’ll be talking with you this morning. Please have a seat. Did you have any trouble finding the office? APPLICANT: No, I didn’t. My doctor is in the building next
door, so I knew the general location. INTERVIEWER: Good. Sometimes this complex is confusing because the buildings all look alike. Have you actually been to the Hard Rock Cafe in Cancun (pointing to the applicant’s shirt)? APPLICANT: No, I haven’t. A friend brought me this T-shirt. I really like it. INTERVIEWER: They certainly are popular. I see them all over the place. Well, I’m glad you could come in this morning. Let’s talk about why you’re here. The interviewer communicates respect for the applicant by standing and shaking hands. It is also easy to imagine that Clyde Dunn is smiling and making eye contact with Mr. Johnson. Clyde takes control of the interview by introducing himself, suggesting how Mr. Johnson might address him, and asking him to have a seat. His concern about Mr. Johnson finding the office and his interest in the T-shirt communicate warmth and interest in him as a person. Clyde also reinforces Mr. Johnson’s request for help in a supportive way. All these behaviors reflect an attitude on Clyde’s part that increases Mr. Johnson’s comfort level and facilitates the exchange of information. The positive climate created by such a beginning should be matched by a physical setting that ensures confidentiality, eliminates physical barriers, and promotes dialogue. It is disconcerting to the applicant to overhear conversations from other offices or to be interrupted by phone calls or office disruptions. He or she is sharing a problem, and such events may lead to worries about the confidentiality of the exchange. Physical barriers between the client and the interviewer (most commonly, desks or tables) also contribute to a climate that can interfere with relationship building. As much as the physical layout of the agency allows, the interviewer should meet applicants in a setting where communication is confidential and disruptions are minimal. It is preferable to have a furniture arrangement that places the interviewer and the applicant at
right angles to one another without tables or desks between them and that facilitates eye contact, positive body language, and equality of position. A sensitive interviewer is also cognizant of other kinds of barriers, such as sexism, racism or ethnocentrism, ageism, and attitudes towards sexual orientation or disabilities. Problems inevitably arise if the interviewer allows any biases or stereotypes to contaminate the helping interaction. To help you think about your own biases and stereotypes, indicate whether you believe each of the following statements is true or false. T F Boys are smarter than girls when it comes to subjects like math and science. T F Men do not want to work for female bosses. T F Mothers should stay home until their young children are in school. T F Women cannot handle the pressures of the business world. T F Asians are smarter than other ethnic groups. T F People on welfare do not want to work. T F People who do not attend church have no moral principles. T F A mandatory retirement age of 65 is necessary because people
at that age have diminished mental capacity. T F The older people get, the lower their sexual interest and ability. T F Gays are incapable of commitment in relationships. How did you respond to these statements? Each statement reflects an unjustified opinion that is based solely on a stereotype of gender, race, age, or attitude toward sexual orientation. Sensitivity to issues of ethnicity, race, gender, age, and sexual orientation is important when interviewing. Many clients and families have backgrounds very different from that of the interviewer. In the United States today, an increasing number of the population originates from non-European backgrounds, a large number of clients are women, and the population proportion of elderly people is increasing rapidly. For many people in these populations, life is difficult, and they have few places to turn for help. Many of them live in poverty, have inadequate education, have a disproportionate chance of getting involved in the criminal justice system (either as a victim or a perpetrator), possess few useful job skills, are unemployed, and suffer major health problems at a disproportionate rate (Anderson & Middleton, 2005). Interviewers should ask themselves, “How do I become sensitive to my clients and relate to them in a way that respects and supports their race, culture, gender, age, and sexual orientation?” The following points may be helpful. These points are also important to consider during the assessment phase that we talked about in the previous chapter. Each Client is Unique It is easy to stereotype cultural, racial, gender, or age groups, but clients cannot be understood strictly in terms of their particular culture. For example, poverty-stricken, homeless clients share values and experience similar life events, but they
are not all the same. Interviewers must take special care to get to know each individual client rather than categorizing him or her as a member of one particular group. One interviewer for example, explained how she struggles to see each individual as unique: “I see one face and then I see ten familiar faces. It is important to see every face as a different one, no matter what you think the outcome will be.” Language has Different Meanings Do not assume that words mean the same to everyone who is interviewed. When questions are posed, clients sometimes do not understand the terminology. Likewise, words or expressions that clients use may have a very different meaning for the interviewer. For example, questions about family and spouse are familiar subjects in an intake interview. When clients talk about “partners” or “family,” these terms can have various meanings, depending on the cultural background and life experiences of the individual being interviewed. For example, in the Native American culture, the family is an extended one that includes many members of the clan. For gay men and lesbian women, the word partner has the special meaning of “significant other.” Another example of language having different meanings is when working with a client who is deaf. One general rule of thumb is to avoid idioms and figurative language, such as “Cat got your tongue?” Someone who is hearing impaired may respond “Where is the cat?” after interpreting the phrase literally. A second general rule is to be aware of words with multiple meanings. For example, hard may mean difficult or it could mean rigid or unyielding. Words with multiple meanings are difficult for individuals with hearing impairment. Explain the Purpose of the Intake Interview and the Interviewer’s Role Clients may show up for the interview without understanding its purpose or the role of the interviewer in the helping process. Confidentiality may also be an important issue for them— sharing information about themselves and others may be contrary to the rules of their culture. For example, for many
people raised in Asian cultures, to describe a problem to someone who is not in the family implies making the matter public, an act that is believed to bring shame to the family. Clients May be Different from You It is easy to make the mistake of expecting the clients we serve to be like us. We begin the interview process wanting to find similarities as a way of building a bridge to them. When clients prove to be very different, or we cannot understand them, we often want them to change so that they will be easier to “manage.” In the United States, we often like to think of our country as a melting pot in which all cultures mix together and lose their original identities. When individuals do not want to lose their own culture, there is a tendency to blame them for being difficult. Interviewers must take special care in the interview process to let clients know that there is respect for differences. We have assembled some suggestions for developing sensitivity in interviewing individuals with certain cultural backgrounds (Atkinson, Morten, & Sue, 2004; Gilligan, 1982; Slattery, 2004; Sue & Sue, 2007). These are meant to be guidelines and points of awareness; they should be used with caution. As we mentioned earlier, individuals seldom exhibit all the characteristics of their cultural group. Interviewing Clients of Native American Origin In many Native American cultures, sharing information about oneself and one’s family is difficult. It is important not to give others information that would embarrass the family or imply wrongdoing by a family member. Listening behaviors such as maintaining eye contact and leaning forward are considered inappropriate and intrusive in some Native American cultures. For many Native Americans, trust increases as you become more involved in their lives and show more interest in them. Making home visits and getting to know the family can significantly improve an interviewer’s chances of getting relevant information. Native Americans tend not to make decisions quickly. The slowness of the process could influence
how soon the client is willing to share information or make judgments. Native American cultures sometimes incorporate a fatalistic element—a belief that events are predetermined. During the initial stages of the process, the client may not understand how his or her responses and actions can influence the course of service delivery. Interviewing Clients with a Common Background of Spanish Language and Customs Individuals living in the United States who are of Mexican, Central and South American, or Caribbean ancestry are often referred to as Hispanic, Latino, and Chicano. There is actually little agreement on the appropriate term for identification across groups and even within subgroups. Although they share some commonalities, they may differ in appearance, country of origin, date of immigration, location and length of time in the United States, customs, and proficiency in English. Interviewers should be sensitive to terminology and avoid stereotypes. Many cultures with this common background view informality as an important part of any activity, even the sharing of information. Taking time to establish rapport with the client before direct questioning begins is helpful. Some people of this origin may be perceived as submissive to authority because they appear reticent or reluctant to answer questions. Their behavior, in fact, may be shyness or the natural response to a language barrier. The father may be seen as aloof as he performs his roles of earning a living for the family and establishing the rules. The mother and other members of the family tend to assume more nurturing roles. Questions that do not take these roles into consideration may be misinterpreted by the clients or may suggest to them that the interviewer is an outsider incapable of understanding the culture or of helping them. Fatalism often plays a role in these cultures. These clients may not see any point in discussing the future, preferring to talk about the present.
Interviewing African Americans Many African Americans do not believe that they receive the same treatment from social service agencies and professionals as Caucasian Americans. Reactions to this belief include a distrust of the human service delivery system, anger about discriminatory treatment, or both. This distrust may result in a reluctance to share information during the intake interview. During the intake interview, it is important to focus on concrete issues that can be connected to services. This approach shows respect for the client’s right to expect fair treatment and quality services (Sue & Sue, 2007). When being interviewed by a Caucasian professional, an African American may feel powerless or believe that his or her input does not matter. Consideration of cultural values such as family characteristics, extended family and friends, educational orientation and experiences, spirituality, and racial identity may help demonstrate to the client that his or her input does matter (Sue & Sue, 2007). Interviewing Women Many women do not know how to talk about the difficulties that they are experiencing, and they may not know how to respond to the questions they are asked. Some have had few opportunities to discuss their problems and may believe they do not have the right to complain. Listening carefully is very important. Anger may play a part in the initial interview. Many women come to the helping process frustrated, either because their efforts have been unrecognized or because they believe that others expect them to be perfect. Often this anger must be expressed before any information can be gathered. Women often feel powerless and do not expect the bureaucracy to serve them well. They may be reluctant to communicate and doubtful that the interview or the process as a whole can make a difference. Women may also fill different roles in their lives that may conflict or cause confusion. When interviewing about client strengths, women from some traditional cultures in the United
States may defer to males and elders and subordinate their own individuality, yet at work and at school, they may be assertive and confident (Gil & Vasquez, 1996). Without exploration, these differences may be perceived as weaknesses while in fact, the flexibility and role shifts may be strengths. Learning about roles and demands contributes to an understanding of the client’s situation. Women may be overly dependent as clients and assume that the interviewer will take complete control of the interview. They may want the interviewer to be the one to identify problems and possible goals. In such cases, care should be taken to give the woman opportunities and encouragement to respond more fully. Interviewing Elderly Clients In this society, elderly people are often disregarded and devalued. The interviewer must show respect for the elderly client’s answers and opinions about the issues discussed. Such a client needs to be assured that his or her responses are important and have been heard by the helper. Pay special attention to the elderly client’s description of support in his or her environment. Many live in an environment of decreasing support (changing neighborhood, death of friends) and with decreasing mobility. Others live with limited family support. These clients may not realize how their environment has changed. Elderly clients may be reluctant to share their difficulties for fear of losing much of their independence. They may understate their needs or overstate the amount of support they have, hoping to avoid changes in their living conditions, such as being removed from their homes or relinquishing their driving privileges. Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities Although individuals with disabilities are not traditionally considered a cultural group, it is important to develop a sensitivity to the issues these individuals may encounter. Attitudes toward people with disabilities are often based on the amount of information and education about disabilities and on
the amount of contact a person has had with individuals with disabilities (Atkinson & Hackett, 2004). These factors are also the best predictors of positive attitudes toward people with disabilities (Yuker, 1994). Helping professionals working with this population need to know about mental, physical, and emotional disabilities; the onset of disability; acceptance of disability; disabilities as handicaps; accommodations; and treatment. A major source of information about a disability is the client. As with other clients, establish the helping relationship by building rapport and trust. Then address the disability or condition: Is it the problem? If not, does it affect the problem? Is it even related to the reason the client is seeking services? Don’t make assumptions about why the individual is there or about the disability, and don’t generalize. Each person is unique. Interviewers also need to increase self-awareness about their own attitudes and knowledge. Know your limits and control your reactions. Increase your knowledge by learning from your client about a particular disability, the difficulties faced, and the environmental situations that are problematic. Interviewing Sexual Minorities In this society, discrimination against members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community is practiced in religious, legal, economic, and social contexts. This discrimination exists as an obvious external practice as well as a more subtle internal practice. To begin work with individuals who are part of the GLBT community, interviewers need information about lifestyle issues and challenges these individuals confront. Issues include understanding the effects of prejudice, developing a positive identity, and becoming more aware of community resources. Those in the GLBT community also experience a loss of support from family and friends and are often victimized and harassed. One way interviewers can establish a positive atmosphere is by using non-heterosexist language such as “partners” instead of “husband and wife.” Intake forms also can be revised to use non-heterosexist
language (Sue & Sue, 2007). It is also important to conduct intake interviews that focus on the special issues described earlier that this community experiences. These are only a few of the differences that helpers may encounter during the intake interview with individuals of various ethnic, racial, gender, and age groups. In several ways, helpers can continue to learn more about how to interview culturally diverse clients. Among them are becoming knowledgeable about other cultures, reading professional articles that focus on ways to modify the interviewing process to meet the needs of certain client groups, and talking with other helpers whose own cultural origins give them insight into cultural barriers. Gaining an understanding of diversity is a process that continues throughout the professional life of every effective helper. Such an understanding enhances the interviewing environment for both parties. Essential Communication Skills Communication forms the core of the interviewing process. In interviewing, communication is the transmission of messages between applicant and helper. As the first face-to-face contact, the interview is a purposeful activity for both participants. In many cases, the motivation is a mutual desire to decide whether the applicant is in the right place for the needed services. This is a negotiation that is facilitated by effective communication skills. An important skill that promotes the comfort level of the applicant and lays the foundation for a positive helping relationship is using language the person understands. This means avoiding the use of technical language. For example, terms such as eligibility, resources, and Form 524 may not mean much to an applicant who is not familiar with the human service system. Another example is to imagine that the interviewer is discussing the benefits of taking a vocational or interest test. Rather than going into detail about the validity or reliability of the test, the helper should discuss how it might help in establishing a vocational objective. Using language or words the
applicant does not understand tends to create distance and disengagement. Congruence between verbal and nonverbal messages is another way to facilitate the interaction between an applicant and a helper. A major part of the meaning of a message is communicated nonverbally, so when conflict is apparent between the verbal and nonverbal messages, the applicant is likely to believe the nonverbal message. A common example of this is the person who says, “Yes, I have time to talk with you now,” while dialing the phone or looking through her desk drawer for a folder. The lack of eye contact or any other encouraging nonverbal message communicates to us that the person is indeed busy or preoccupied with other matters. Another skill that facilitates the interview process is active listening—making a special effort to hear what is said, as well as what is not said. An interviewer who is sensitive to what the applicant is communicating, verbally as well as nonverbally, gains additional information about what is really going on with the individual. This ability is particularly helpful in situations in which the presenting problem may differ from the underlying problem and when interviewing an individual from another culture. Later in the chapter, we present a more detailed discussion of listening as it relates to the intake interview. A popular way to elicit information is by asking questions. Questioning is an art as well as a skill. Unfortunately, helpers don’t often develop their questioning skills, relying instead on questioning techniques that have served them well in informal or friendly encounters. Typically, this means asking questions that focus on facts, such as “What happened?” “Who said that?” “Where are you?” “Why did you react that way?” Questions such as these usually lead to other questions, placing the burden of the interview on the helper and allowing the applicant to settle into a more passive role. The applicant’s participation is then limited to answering questions, so the interview may begin to feel like the game “Twenty Questions.” Skillful questioning combined with effective responding helps elicit information and
keep the interaction flowing. Appropriate questioning and responding techniques are introduced later in this chapter. Patterns of communication vary from culture to culture, according to religion, ethnicity, gender, and lifestyle differences. In the dominant culture in the United States, it is effective to use a reflective listening approach when feelings are important. Many of the techniques that are useful in this approach are not appropriate for all cultures. For example, eye contact is inappropriate among some Eskimos. The sense of space and privacy is different for Middle Easterners, who often stand closer to others than Americans do. Some people from Asian cultural backgrounds may prefer more indirect, subtle approaches of communication. Thus, a single interviewing approach may have different effects on people from various cultural backgrounds. The skillful and sensitive helper must be aware of these differences. Both spoken language and body language are expressions of culture. Many helpers work with clients from several cultures, each with their own assumptions and ways of structuring information. Both talking and listening provide many occasions for misunderstanding. Assigning great significance to any single gesture by the applicant is also risky, but a pattern or a change from one behavior to another is meaningful (Sielski, 1979). Once again, the key is the helper’s awareness during the interview process. Now that you have read about general guidelines for essential communication, let’s focus on the specific skills of listening, questioning, and responding. Interviewing skills aim to enhance communication, which involves both words and nonverbal language. Spoken language varies among individuals and cultures. Understanding spoken language is challenging because it is always changing, it is usually not precise, and it is ambiguous. Body language, which is also important and challenging to understand, includes body movement, posture, facial expression, and tone of voice. Knowing the ways in which body language varies culturally can
help the interviewer fathom the thoughts and feelings of the applicant. In talking with an applicant, the helper must strive for effective communication, making sure that the receiver of the message understands the message in the way the sender intended. In the intake interview, the helper listens, interprets, and responds. To understand the applicant’s problem as fully as possible, the helper constantly interprets the meanings of behaviors and words. He or she should always have a “third ear” focused on this deeper interpretation. At the same time, the applicant is interpreting the words and behaviors of the interviewer. An effective interviewer can help the applicant make connections and interpretations. Also contributing to correct interpretations and connections is a good working relationship between the two of them, good timing, and sensitivity to whether the material being discussed is near the applicant’s level of awareness. A caseworker at a settlement house describes the initial meeting at her agency. She is sensitive to how clients are treated this first visit; she expresses concern that without sensitive treatment, the clients may not return. Telling a potential client to “come back later” may be the very thing that discourages the person who has finally and perhaps even agonizingly decided to come for help. It is possible the person will never return. A particularly challenging group to work with are gangs. Establishing a relationship is critical and involves talking about cars, the neighborhood, girlfriends, or clothes—anything but crime. A Los Angeles law enforcement officer uses this approach to identify commonalities. Once a comfort level is established, then a gang member will often share what’s happening in the neighborhood. Both of these helping professionals are experienced at intake interviewing. They value the helping relationship and recognize its importance in the service delivery that is to follow. To establish the relationship, they use communication skills, such
as listening, questioning, and responding. These are discussed and illustrated next, with excerpts from intake interviews. Listening Listening is the way most information is acquired from applicants for services. The interviewer listens to the applicant’s verbal and nonverbal messages. “Listening with the eyes” means observing the client’s facial expressions, posture, gestures, and other nonverbal behaviors, which may signal his or her mood, mental state, and degree of comfort. Verbal messages communicate the facts of the situation or the problem and sometimes the attendant feelings. Often, however, feelings are not expressed verbally, but nonverbal messages provide clues. A good listener should be sensitive to the congruence (or lack of it) between the client’s verbal and nonverbal messages. The interviewer must pay careful attention to both forms of communication. Good listening is an art that requires time, patience, and energy. The interviewer must put aside whatever is on his or her mind— whether that is what to recommend for the previous client, the tasks to be accomplished by the end of the day, or making a grocery list—to focus all attention on the applicant. The interviewer must also be sensitive to the fact that his or her behavior gives the applicant feedback about what has been said (Epstein, 1985). During the interview, the helper must also recognize cultural factors that play into the interpretation of body language. For example, the proper amount of eye contact and the appropriate space between helper and applicant may vary according to the cultural identity of the applicant. As you can see, listening is indeed complicated. What behaviors characterize good listening? How are attentiveness and interest best communicated to the applicant? Attending behavior, responsive listening, and active listening are terms that indicate ways in which helpers let applicants know that they are being heard. The following five behaviors are a set of guidelines for the interviewer (Egan, 2010, pp. 134– 135). They can be easily remembered by the acronym SOLER.
S: Face the client Squarely; that is, adopt a posture that indicates involvement. O: Adopt an Open posture. Crossed arms and crossed legs can be signs of lessened involvement with or availability to others. An open posture can be a sign that you’re open to the client and to what he or she has to say. L: Remember that it is possible at times to Lean toward the other. The word lean can refer to a kind of bodily flexibility or responsiveness that enhances your communication with a client. E: Maintain good Eye contact. Maintaining good eye contact is a way of saying, “I’m with you; I’m interested; I want to hear what you have to say.” R: Try to be relatively Relaxed. Being relaxed means two things. First, it means not fidgeting nervously or engaging in distracting facial expressions. Second, it means becoming comfortable with using your body as a vehicle of personal contact and expression. Attending behavior is another term for appropriate listening behaviors. Eye contact, attentive body language (such as leaning forward, facing the client, using facilitative and encouraging gestures), and vocal qualities such as tone and rate of speech are ways for the interviewer to communicate interest and attention (Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett, 2010). Attending behavior also means allowing the applicant to determine the topic. Other guidelines for good listening are provided by Epstein (1985, pp. 18–19): 1. Be attentive to general themes rather than details. 2. Be guided in listening by the purpose of the interview in order to screen out irrelevancies. 3. Be alert to catch what is said. 4. Normally, don’t interrupt, except to change the subject intentionally, to stop excessive repetition, or to stop clients from causing themselves undue distress. 5. Let the silences be, and listen to them. The client may be finished, or thinking, or waiting for the practitioner, or feeling
resentful. Resume talking when you have made a judgment about what the silence means, or ask the client if you do not understand. Skillful listeners also hear other things that may contribute to understanding what is going on. A shift in the conversation may be a clue that the applicant finds the topic too painful or too revealing, or it might indicate that there is an underlying connection between the two topics. Another consideration is what the applicant says first. “I’m not sure why I’m here” or “My probation officer told me to come see you” give clues about the applicant’s feelings about the meeting. Also, the way the applicant states the problem may indicate how he or she perceives it. For example, an applicant who states, “My mother says I’m always in trouble,” may be signaling a perception of the situation that differs from the mother’s. Concluding remarks may also reveal what the applicant thinks has been important in the interview. The skilled interviewer also listens for recurring themes, what is not said, contradictions, and incongruencies. Good listeners make good interviewers, but as you have just read, listening is a complex activity. It requires awareness of one’s own nonverbal behaviors, sensitivity to cultural factors, and attention to various nuances of the interaction. It is further complicated by the fact that people seeking assistance don’t always say what they mean or behave rationally. However, the use of good listening skills always increases the likelihood of a successful intake interview. Questioning Questioning, a natural way of communicating, has particular significance for intake interviews. It is an important technique for eliciting information, which is a primary purpose of intake interviewing. Many of us view questioning as something most people do well, but it is in fact a complex art. This section elaborates on questioning skills, introduces the appropriate use of questions, identifies problems that should be considered, and explores the advantages of open inquiry as one way to elicit information.
Questioning is generally accepted by some as low-level or unacceptable interviewer behavior (Carkhuff, 1969; Egan, 2010). Others view it as a complex skill with many advantages (Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett, 2003). Let’s explore its complexity and its advantages. Long, Paradise, and Long (1981) give three reasons that questioning is a complex skill: Questioning may assist and inhibit the helping process; it can establish a desired as well as an undesired pattern of exchange; and it can place the client in the one-sided position of being interrogated or examined by the helper. For these reasons, we may consider questioning an art form. The wording of a question is often less important than the manner and tone of voice used to ask it. One human service professional says: “I think that people have to be detectives.... They have to enjoy walking into a new setting and seeing what is there.... It is not just going out with your 12-page assessment form and asking alienating questions.” Another helper who works for a school for the deaf concurs: The “skills are those involved with being a private eye, nosy in a tactful way.” Also, too many questions will confuse the applicant or produce defensiveness, whereas too few questions place the burden of the interview on the client, which may lead to the omission of some important areas for exploration. The pace of questions influences the interview, too. If the pace is too slow, the applicant may interpret this as lack of interest, but a pace that is too fast may cause important points to be missed. A delicate balance is required. What are the advantages of questioning? One is that questioning saves time. If the interviewer knows what information is needed, then questioning is a direct way to get it. Questioning also focuses attention in a particular direction, moves the dialogue from the specific to the general as well as from the general to the specific, and clarifies any inaccuracies, confusion, or inconsistencies. Let’s examine some examples of the appropriate uses of questioning. After each example provide two relevant questions.
· To begin Could you tell me a little about yourself? What would you like to talk about? Could we talk about how I can help? You work at the county Office on Aging. A woman comes in with her elderly mother. List two questions that you might use to begin the interview. · To obtain information How long did you stay with your grandmother? What happens when you refuse to do as your boss asks? Who do you think is pressuring you to do that? Can you give me an example of a time when you felt that way? A client tells you about mistreatment by her boss at her new job. She claims that she is being sexually harassed. What two questions would help you understand what happened? · To focus Why don’t we focus on your relationship with your daughter? What happens when you do try to talk to your husband? Of the three problems you’ve mentioned today, which one should we discuss first? A client is worried about how her surgery will go, who will care for her children while she is in the hospital, and whether she will be fired for missing so much work. She wrings her hands and seems ready to burst into tears. What are two questions that would focus her attention? · To clarify Could you describe again what happened when she left? How did you feel about that conversation compared with others you have had with him? What is different about these two situations? A young man shares his anguish over his mother’s death a year ago. You notice that he is smiling, and you are confused about what he is really saying. Write two questions that help clarify what is going on. · To identify strengths What is a current problem you have also faced in the past? Can you now use the same resources to solve your current problem? What did you do to keep the problem from turning into a crisis? A family member with a disability is questioned to assess functioning level and suitability for a program that requires her to ride public transportation. Write two questions to help you identify her strengths. These are examples of interview situations in which the helper might legitimately use questions. In all of them, the general rule
of questioning applies: Question to obtain information or to direct the exchange into a more fruitful channel. Although questioning may seem to be the direct path to information, sometimes this strategy can have negative effects. Long, Paradise, and Long (1981) suggest that interviewers not rely on questions to carry the interaction or interview. This is particularly problematic for beginning helpers because people generally have a tendency to ask a question whenever there is silence. Questions may also be inappropriate when the interviewer does not know what to say. Asking questions nervously may lead to more questions, which can put the interviewer in the position of focusing on thinking up more questions rather than listening to what the client is saying. Prematurely questioning to assess client strengths during the interview can also be problematic and may be viewed as rejection by the client. An overreliance on questioning can create other problems for both interviewers and clients. For the client, too many questions can limit self-exploration, placing him or her in a dependent role in which the only responsibility is to respond to the questions. A client may also begin to feel defensive, hostile, or resentful at being interrogated. Using too many questions may place the interviewer in the role of problem solver, giving him or her most of the responsibility for generating alternatives and making decisions. In the long term, over-reliance on questioning leads to bad habits and poor helping skills. Using questions to the exclusion of other types of helping responses eventually results in the withering of these other skills (as discussed in the next section). In conclusion, questioning is an important strategy for effective interviewing, but it is more than a strategy for obtaining information. Because of the subtleties of questioning, the matter of its appropriate uses in interviewing, and the potential problems, questioning is an art that requires practice. The skillful interviewer who uses questioning to best advantage knows when to use open and closed inquiries to gather
information during the intake interview. These types of questions are discussed next. Closed and Open Inquiries The questions used in intake interviews can be categorized as either open or closed inquiries. Determining which one to use depends on the interviewer’s intent. If specific information is desired, closed questions are appropriate: “How old are you?” “What grade did you complete in school?” “Are you married?” If the interviewer wants the client to talk about a particular topic or elaborate on a subject that has been introduced, open questions are preferred: “What is it like being the oldest of five children?” “Could you tell me about your experiences in school?” “How would you describe your marriage?” Closed questions elicit facts. The answer might be yes, no, or a simple factual statement. An interview that focuses on completing a form generally consists of closed questions like those in the previous paragraph. However, the interviewer must be cautious, for a series of closed questions may cause the client to feel defensive, sensing an interrogation rather than an offer of help. One approach is to save the form until the end of the interview, review it, and complete the unanswered questions at that time. If the completion of an intake form is allowed to take precedence in the interview, the interviewer misses the opportunity to influence the client’s attitudes toward the agency, getting help, and later service provision. Perhaps equally important, information that could be acquired through listening and nonverbal messages may be missed if the interviewer is focused on writing answers on the intake form. Open inquiries, on the other hand, are broader, allowing the expression of thoughts, feelings, and ideas. This type of inquiry requires a more extensive response than a simple yes or no. The exchange of this type of information contributes to building rapport and explaining a situation or a problem. Consider the following example. FATHER: I’m having trouble with the oldest boy, William. He’s in trouble again at school.
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake
Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake

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Interview Skills Guide for Effective Client Intake

  • 1. Interviewing Skills The skills that are necessary for effective (and efficient) intake are the focus of Chapter Five. In addition, a section of this chapter will introduce you to concepts that will help you talk with a particular client group—children. Exercise 1 Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers During an interview, the interviewer demonstrates attitudes of the self and other. One way to learn about these attitudes and characteristics is to watch others conduct interviews. 1. Select two television programs that include interviews; for example, PBS NewsHour, the Sunday morning network news shows, and talk shows such as Larry King Live and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Watch interview segments that last approximately five minutes. 2. Describe the following: Show: _______________ Date: _______________ Setting: _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Interviewee(s): ___________________________________________
  • 3. Interviewers: ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 3. Now compare the two interview styles you observed in terms of greetings, questioning, control, and setting. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 4. 4. What did you like or dislike about each interview? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Exercise 2 When I Was the Stranger The purpose of this exercise is to help you identify what it is like to be different or to be a stranger in a specific environment. Answering the following questions will help you identify and explore that experience. This will help you understand how a client may feel on a first visit to an agency. 1. Describe a time when you felt you were “different,” a stranger or an outcast. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 5. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 2. How did you react in this situation? How did you feel? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 3. What did you think others were communicating to you? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 6. _____________________________________________________ _______ 4. What did you communicate to them? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Exercise 3 Developing Cultural Sensitivities Review the section on cultural sensitivity in Chapter Four. 1. Several potential client groups are discussed. With which one would you be least comfortable? _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 2.
  • 7. Describe a scenario where you are conducting an intake interview with a client in this particular client group. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 3. Identify three reasons that you might have difficulty interviewing this client. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 4. Put yourself in the client’s place and describe the client’s thoughts prior to coming in for the interview. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 8. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ 5. Answer the following questions about your description of the client’s point of view. · What was the experience of writing as if you were the client like for you? _______________________________________________ _____________ ______________________________________ ______________________ _____________________________ _______________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ___________ _________________________________________________ · What have you learned from this experience about your own cultural sensitivity? _________________________________________ ___________________ ________________________________ ____________________________ _______________________ _____________________________________ ______________ ______________________________________________ _____ _____________________________________________________ __ Exercise 4 Using Language the Client Understands The following quote is a helper’s explanation of the services available and the purpose of the interview. 1. Read the following remarks at the beginning of an intake interview where the helper summarizes program services: I am glad that you are here today. I want to tell you about our services that we may be able to offer you. First is the Bridges program. It provides a case worker, a helper, and vouchers, and you become part of our Helpers program. If you are able to work through Phase One: Learning and Developing Skills, then
  • 9. you will be eligible for Phase Two. In Phase Two, we will develop your case in multiple ways so that you can be an applicant for Phase Three. Now, Phase Three is for your whole family except for the members who do not qualify and fall into our nonstandard category. We have criteria for each of these phases. Now that you have a summary of our services, I am going to ask you some questions to see if you qualify for services. 2. Re-read the helper’s statement. It is not very clear, is it? Review the statement and circle all of the phases that you believe might have been unclear to the client. For each item circled, suggest an alternative statement that presents the information about the agency and its services more clearly. ___________________________________________________ _________ __________________________________________ __________________ _________________________________ ___________________________ ________________________ ____________________________________ _______________ _____________________________________________ ______ _____________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________ __________ _________________________________________ ___________________ Exercise 5 Active Listening Using active listening or attending behavior with a client is one way to communicate to the client that he or she is important. Using various gestures and nonverbal signals, the helper allows the client to choose the path of the conversation while paying attention to the message the client is conveying. 1. Select a friend who is willing to help you. 2. Ask the friend to talk to you about an event, situation, or problem he or she does not mind sharing. Find a quiet spot so that the two of you are not interrupted. 3. Use the SOLER behaviors presented in your text as you listen to your friend talk. 4. After you have practiced your active listening, describe to
  • 10. your friend what it was like to listen using this technique. Then ask your friend to share his or her experience. Your experiences: ________________________________________ ____________________ _______________________________ _____________________________ ______________________ ______________________________________ _____________ _______________________________________________ ____ _____________________________________________________ ___ Your friend’s experiences: ________________________________________ ____________________ _______________________________ _____________________________ ______________________ ______________________________________ _____________ _______________________________________________ ____ _____________________________________________________ ___ Exercise 6 Questioning Chapter Four describes five situations when questions are appropriate and relevant. 1. Review the five situations. 2. Practice your questioning skills by formulating five appropriate questions for each of the following case examples. Case 1 Brigitta is an angry, frustrated client who has been living on her own with her two young sons in community housing for over a year. She believes the feelings she is experiencing are a reaction to her mother constantly calling her, asking her to come by, and wanting her to account for her time. She decides to see a human service professional because she is at the end of her rope. As the helper explores this situation with Brigitta, however, she discovers that Brigitta’s father died six months ago. Her mother is lonely and mourning, and Brigitta, who moved out three months before he died, feels guilty not only about moving out but also about not returning home when her mother needs her. To begin: _____________________________________________________
  • 11. _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To obtain information: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To focus: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To clarify: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To identify client strengths: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Case 2 Rena has always had a problem with obesity. She has had diabetes since she was 11 and has fought her overweight
  • 12. condition and high blood pressure since she was a teenager. She starts each new diet with great enthusiasm, but she soon returns to her old eating habits. Rena is beginning a new diet developed by a leading movie star, and she has great hopes. She tries not to remember the 400 pounds she has lost and regained in the past 10 years. To begin: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To obtain information: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To focus: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To clarify: _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 13. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To identify client strengths: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Case 3 Jim joined a smoking cessation group at the medical center a month ago. As all participants do initially, Jim told the group about his tobacco habit and stated that his wife was adamant that he quit. He and his wife became parents for the first time two months ago, and she fears the effects of smoke on the baby. It was only last night, though, that Jim shared with the group his worries about beginning a topical precancerous treatment on his face and about his baby’s lack of response to stimuli. To begin: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To obtain information: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 14. _____________________________________________________ _______ To focus: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To clarify: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ To identify client strengths: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Exercise 7 Responding After reading the following examples, write three different responses: a paraphrase, a clarification, and an open-ended question. Helping Situation 1 I can’t seem to keep my mind on my work these days. I forget what I am doing, I find myself staring out the window, my kids keep yelling at me, I can’t get my work completed. I know that my boss is not pleased with me. I’m not pleased with myself. Everyone is giving me a hard time. I don’t sleep very well. I am a mess. Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 15. _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Helping Situation 2 My momma told me that I had to come to see you. My teacher found out that I was coming, and she told me to tell you what I knew about my dad. I am not sure what to say. My daddy loves me. He says that he loves me special. Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______
  • 16. Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Helping Situation 3 I am not sure what the problem is (pause) ... I just don’t know.... Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Helping Situation 4 Mom and dad are not doing too well. Mom cannot dress herself anymore, and she needs help to prepare her food. She cannot remember what day it is, forgets to take her medicines, and does not know many of her friends. Dad is taking care of her as best as he can, but his abilities are limited, too. He is worn out from caring for her, and he does not have
  • 17. time to do anything for himself. We are crazy from worry. Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Clarification: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ Open-Ended Question: _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ _____________________________________________________ _______ In More Depth: Talking With Children There are multiple ways that helpers provide services to children in need either by supporting families who have children with special needs or by working directly with children. Children begin the helping process with an intake interview, much the same way that adults do. Many helpers indicate that, although the focus of service is the child, they gather information from other sources such as parents, school officials, and written case records. Ultimately, most helpers also want to hear from the child. Children have particular physical, cognitive, and social developmental characteristics; because they are a unique population, special knowledge, skills, and values are required of the helper to conduct this first interview. This section provides information on the characteristics of
  • 18. children between ages 6 and 12, what psychologists label middle childhood, and presents guidelines for talking with these children, especially for the first time in the intake interview. This age range is a unique time in a child’s life: “Keep in mind that the school child’s head is not where yours is. It’s not just a matter of physical growth—it’s perhaps more a matter of intellectual change—the fact their intellectual feet are still not firmly grounded. Too, their heads may be closer to the clouds. And perhaps that’s why they see magic more clearly than we adults do” (LeFrancois, 2001, p. 374). Let’s look at the physical, cognitive, and social development for children in middle childhood, as well as the problems or challenges they may experience. Physical Growth There are physical measures important to note in children in middle childhood. A marked growth spurt occurs as girls, on average, gain more weight and height. Both girls and boys decrease their fatty mass as their bone and muscle develop; this trend is consistent with good nutrition. Children also continue to develop their fine and gross motor skills. The increase in physical abilities allows them to expand their interest in creative efforts and sports requiring coordination and physical strength. Obesity emerges as a problem for many children this age due to overeating (Lamerez, Kuepper, & Bruning, 2005), poor nutrition, lack of physical activity (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn, & Hammer, 2009), cultural or psychological factors, such as using food as a reward or a punishment, and genetic factors (Malina & Bouchard, 1991). Other physical problems are sensory-related, such as visual or hearing impairments and difficulties linked to such diseases as muscular dystrophy and diabetes. Children are also reaching puberty at younger ages. This change in physical maturation is problematic because cognitive and social development remain the same (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Cognitive Development Two important concepts help explain cognitive development in
  • 19. middle childhood: the use of concrete operations and intelligence. Children who are able to think concretely demonstrate skills such as engaging in conversations, performing reversible thinking, using rules of logic, and understanding concepts based upon concrete objects of their past experiences (Piaget, 1960). Children have conversations; they engage in dialogue, listen, and respond appropriately. They take turns in conversation and demonstrate an interest in others. The following conversation between two 7-year-olds during school playtime illustrates this: SUZIE: Can I have your hammer? JORGE: I am using it. SUZIE: What are you making? JORGE: A puzzle with this wood. SUZIE: Okay. But I want the hammer. JORGE: Not now. I am busy. Children also perform reversible thinking; this means that they may have an idea or understanding and then change that understanding. The following conversation illustrates the change of thinking when Paula, age 9, discusses the subject of ghosts with her mom. Note that her mother uses a concrete illustration of a ghost, instead of an abstract idea. PAULA: Are you scared during Halloween? I mean, if I am a ghost. MOM: Is there something that makes you feel scared? PAULA: Ms. Brewer at school says that after Halloween all of the ghosts will disappear. MOM: Paula, let me show you what she means. See this ghost that I made for the door? After tonight I will take it down and put it away. Here, let me show you. (Mom takes the ghost down, puts it away, and shuts the closet where she puts it.) PAULA: But I think that I will disappear. MOM: Here, let’s practice putting on your costume and then taking it off and putting it away. [They do this.] There, now you know that disappearing ghosts means putting away decorations and costumes.
  • 20. PAULA: Can I make the kitty disappear? MOM: Well, the kitty can go outside and you will not be able to see her. But we still have to take care of her. She is still there. Because children are beginning to use logic, they can use it to make sense of their world. They also have the ability to use rules of logic to construct knowledge. In the conversation above, Paula is learning about the concept of disappear. Because it is an abstract concept, her mom uses concrete examples to explain what the concept disappear means, as it relates to her “being a ghost” for Halloween. Paula uses a rule of logic to extend the concept of disappear to the kitty. In this example, her mother must help Paula understand that the rules of logic for the ghost disappearing do not apply to the kitty. MOM: Paula, let the kitty out. Now has the kitty disappeared? PAULA: I know where she is. When she goes out, she has a favorite place to sleep in the sun. MOM: Why don’t you check and see if the kitty is there? (Paula checks.) PAULA: Yup, she’s there. MOM: Has she disappeared? PAULA: Nope. I can’t see her from the window, but I know where she is. Children from 6 to 12 years of age recall information from the past. They display long-term memory as they ride a bicycle, play video games, and make baskets at the free-throw line during a basketball game. As children tell stories about themselves or recall specific actions from the past, they show their autobiographical memory (Brouillet & Lepine, 2005). Intelligence provides another way professionals consider children’s cognitive abilities. One theory is that intelligence is a quality or a measure of functioning and is based upon characteristics or traits. General intelligence focuses abilities that are innate within the individual and include solving problems, reasoning, and analyzing. Specific intelligence includes abilities such as knowledge of vocabulary, general information, and arithmetic skills (Engle, Tuholski, Laughlin, &
  • 21. Conway, 1999). Another way of viewing intelligence is by seeing how individuals adapt to the world. This approach, called successful intelligence, considers the context of intelligence and the control of the environment. This means that children choose the environments in which they function and then change them (Sternberg, 2008). Children demonstrate successful intelligence as they choose their friends, change their social interactions from setting to setting, and decide what they do in their spare time. Understanding a child’s intelligence may assist a helper prepare for an initial contact with a child. A child’s written case file may contain scores from more traditional intelligence tests such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Alternative information about successful intelligence or multiple intelligence may be gained during the initial interview and may help the helping professional choose ways in which to communicate and establish rapport. Often professionals use tests to determine the intelligence of children. A later chapter addresses the use of tests to measure specific traits. There is also a caution about how to use test results in interpreting what we know about clients. This caution applies equally to the children helpers test. Social Development Areas of social cognition, self-esteem, and relationships represent the social development of children in middle childhood. From the age of 6 until 12, children change how they view themselves in relation to others. Children begin to see that others have a point of view, but also believe others would change to theirs if they knew what it was. Children then change to a self-reflective point of view where they acknowledge both their own and others’ points of view. Finally, they adopt a mutual point of view (Feldman, 2010). Once they understand the points of view of others, they may be willing to consider differences, express empathy, and facilitate self-change. The mutual point of view is just beginning to develop during the latter stages of middle childhood.
  • 22. Understanding the self-esteem of children provides helpers with information about children and how they feel about their competencies and self-worth. Children usually have a general sense of their overall worth. Then they judge themselves according to specific competencies, such as their scholastic ability, athletic competence, social acceptance, behavioral conduct, and physical appearance (Feldman, 2010). Judgments about self-worth are founded on how children would like to be and how they believe others view them. The opinions of parents, influential adults, and friends are most important. Physical appearance is often one of the most important areas. Self-worth is linked to self-concept, emotion and mood, and motivation. A positive sense of self-worth is related to a good self-concept, happiness, and self-efficacy. A negative sense of self-worth is related to low self-concept, unhappiness, and depression. Friendships become increasingly important during middle childhood, especially in the preteen years. Best friends and a circle of friends contribute to the social development of the child. Five categories of social status describe the different experiences children have with friendships (Gottman, 1977). The “sociometric stars” are liked by a majority of their peers. The “mixers” interact often with their peers; some are well- liked and some are not. The “teacher negatives” experience conflicts with their teachers; some are liked and some are not. The “tuned out” are less involved with peers and ignored. The “sociometric rejectees” are not liked very much. If a child is rejected by peers, reactions include anger, retaliation, and aggression. Children without friends suffer from depression, bullying, and loneliness (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2003). Victimization of children is a serious problem that affects a child’s growth and development. There are several types of victimization (Finkelhor & Dziuba-Leatherman, 1994). Pandemic victimization describes the occasional suffering related to high-profile kidnapping or violent crime. Acute victimization includes physical abuse, neglect, emotional
  • 23. maltreatment, medical neglect, and sexual abuse, and it is fairly prevalent in our society (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2003). There are physical and psychological consequences of acute victimization, such as emotional withdrawal, aggressiveness, truancy, delinquency, poor school achievement, and poor social relationships. Before we introduce ideas about how to talk with children in middle childhood, let’s explore information about child development that might be helpful to you. Exercise 8 James and Samantha 1. List the facts that you believe are most relevant to you as you conduct an intake interview with children ages 6 to 12. Physical Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Cognitive Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Social Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ 2. Read the following summary about James and Samantha. You also read about James and Samantha in Chapter Three. James
  • 24. and Samantha James is 10 years old and his sister, Samantha, is 8. Both attend Boone Elementary School and were living with their aunt and uncle; their parents are in prison. In the middle of the school year, the aunt told the children that they were going to move that evening. The children picked up their clothes and a few toys and moved into a shelter. They didn’t know that this was a shelter for women and children who were being abused. The children were brokenhearted to leave their school. They had good friends there. Samantha says that she understands why she needs to go to another school, but James is angry that he has to transfer. Finally, the staff at the shelter tried to work out transportation back to the school, but school officials told the children’s aunt that they could not transfer back into the old district. The school specialist has referred James and Samantha to you. 3. Review the child development facts that you listed in Question 1. How would each of those facts help you interview James and Samantha? Add any facts that you did not list for Question 1. Physical Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Cognitive Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Social Development: _______________________________________ _____________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________
  • 25. _______________________________________ ____________ ________________________________________________ ___ _____________________________________________________ ____ Now that you have studied child development for children in middle childhood, let’s look at guidelines for talking with children in this stage of development. Guidelines for the Intake Interview Helpers who are beginning their work with young clients often need to shift their thinking from “working with clients” to “working with children.” Many times when a professional uses the term “client,” an adult male or female comes to mind. Because of their age and lack of experience, working with children requires special care and consideration. There is an immediate power differential because young children are taught to have respect for adults, especially for those in authority. Children are involved in a developmental process; successful helpers consider where the child is in the developmental framework and begin the helping process with the child’s ability and level of development in mind. Getting Ready for the Intake Interview In some ways, beginning the intake interview occurs before the child comes to the office or before the helper visits the child. The helper prepares the physical space to make the child comfortable. This preparation also helps the helper establish rapport. Here are some guidelines to follow when preparing the room in which the intake interview will take place (Henderson & Thompson, 2011): · Provide a relaxed atmosphere. This means use comfortable chairs and tables that are child-size and child-friendly. Set the furniture so the child can be face-to-face with you and not have to look up. · Provide an atmosphere that is bright and not too cluttered. Children love bright colors and decorations with animals, dolls, and animated characters with which they are familiar. · Establish a spacious atmosphere. Leave open space in the
  • 26. room. Do not put a desk or table between you and the child. · Provide a barrier that the child can use to create a safe distance from you if needed. This means that the child can choose where to put the chair, or can hold a pillow or a blanket, or can move a table between you and him or her. · Have toys, drawing material, desk, and dolls that might help facilitate conversation. You will use these materials to involve the child in activities. Usually, helpers gain information as the child draws, paints, role plays, or the like. Even preteens may want to use art or music to talk about their situations rather than just engage in conversation. Also, games and other materials indicate to children that your space is a good place for them. These suggestions are still relevant if the helper is meeting the child or the family at the home. Sometimes the helper can talk with the family about arranging a special room for the meeting, indicating that a place where the child would be comfortable is optimal. The child may be nervous at the first interview. At the very least, children may have questions about the helping process and what is expected of them. Children often have questions that differ from those of adults. Many times children do not have a choice about receiving services. Even though the helper, and perhaps the parents, knows that the child will benefit from services, the child does not understand this. Here are some questions the child may have (Henderson & Thompson, 2011): · What is helping? · Why do I have to do this? · What’s wrong with me? · Will this hurt? Will I get a shot? Medicine? · Do I have to go? · Do I have to do this just once? · What do I do? These questions indicate fear of a new situation, talking to a stranger, and answering questions and not understanding the helping process and the need for it. You must be able to answer
  • 27. these questions using language that children can understand. Here are some ways to approach these questions: CHILD: What is helping? HELPER: I am a professional helper. My job is to help you. I am going to... CHILD: Why do I have to do this? HELPER: People who care about you think I could help you. CHILD: What is wrong with me? HELPER: I don’t think anything is wrong. My work is to get others to help you. CHILD: Will this hurt? Will I get a shot? Medicine? HELPER: I will not hurt you. Today we are going to talk and play. I want to know you better. CHILD: Do I have to go? HELPER: I am not sure where you will go. If you have to go anywhere, someone you know will go with you. CHILD: Do I have to do this just once? HELPER: You and I will see each other today. Then we will decide what else we need to do. CHILD: What do I do? HELPER: We can start by drawing this picture. Can you draw your family and your house? The Focus of the Interview As discussed earlier, any information that you can learn about the child before the initial interview helps you prepare. Two factors guide your initial interview with the child: the goal of your interview and the information you need to obtain. For example, if you are working with a child who has a chronic illness, you may need to engage the child to establish a relationship, determine how the child is feeling physically, what the child knows about his or her medical situation, and what social and emotional effects the illness has on the child. Of course, other sources of information may include parents and medical staff. Another child may be eligible to receive services because he or she is living in foster care while his or her parents are incarcerated. Interviewing this child for the first
  • 28. time, the helper may focus on the emotional status of the child, his or her comfort with the foster care family, and knowledge of the child’s parents’ situation. Additional sources of information may be the department of human services; the public schools, if appropriate; information about the foster parents; and the status of parents in the criminal justice system. Regardless of the situation, the focus of the initial interview is establishing rapport with the child, exploring what the child currently understands about the situation, understanding the strengths of the child, understanding the fears and concerns of the child, and explaining the helping process. Exercise 9 The Case of Tannie and Lindie The following case lets you apply the concepts to conduct an intake interview with children in middle childhood. I received a call from Inez Tucker, the principal of the local elementary school in our county. She and I had worked together before on several cases involving students for whom home life is particularly difficult. Since the implementation of “No Child Left Behind,” each school in the school district targets students who are in danger of failing and tries to address barriers to their academic success. Often, these barriers involve home and neighborhood factors, as well as individual social and emotional problems. Inez asked if she could meet me for lunch, explaining that she had a complicated case that would take about 30 minutes to explain and discuss. I met Inez at our appointed time at a small café downtown. The owner saved us a corner table in the back where we could talk without interruption and without being overheard. Confidentiality is important for both of us. Inez came with only a few notes and started by explaining how difficult this case was for her. “Two weeks into the school term, a young mother brought her two children, Tannie and Lindie, to school. None of them spoke English. Speaking what we took for a South American Indian dialect, the mother tried to communicate. Three teachers in our school speak fluent Spanish, and two are native speakers. None
  • 29. of them spoke the indigenous dialect. After considerable effort on the part of several of us, including the three Spanish- speaking teachers, to talk with the children and the mother, I asked a kitchen aide to join the conversation. He speaks a mixture of Indian dialect and Spanish. The teacher also asked the children to join the conversation. Although the aide could not translate exactly what their mother and the children said, he could help us understand some of the conversation.” Inez took out her notes and read to me the following facts that she believes she has learned about this situation: · The children, both girls, are 9 and 10 years of age. · The mother and the girls live three blocks from the school. · The mother has no job. · The mother can neither read nor write. · The children can neither read nor write. · The family has no permanent records. · The children have never attended school. Inez continued her story: “Since the girls have been coming to school, they have been receiving special tutoring. They go to class in the morning, but after an hour’s time, they begin to walk around the classroom. The teacher walks them down to my office. I have begun to let them play with toys in my office until the resource teacher comes to get them. She is working to teach them the alphabet, and she is teaching them words that might be useful to them. They have been in school five weeks now and they have come to school about half of that time. They really don’t understand the language and they don’t understand the culture of the school. “I know that there are lots of needs, both for the family and for the girls. But right now I just want to hear from them about how they are doing. I would love to have more information about them, so I can understand what they are going through, how they like school, and what we can do for them.” Inez then asked me if I would interview them. I would begin my work with an intake interview. I scheduled a time to talk with the girls after gaining the
  • 30. mother’s permission to do so. I decided to interview both of them together. I thought that they would be more comfortable meeting with me together. To prepare, I followed three steps: considering current knowledge of the children; considering knowledge of developmental issues; considering use of an interpreter. Preparing for the Interview Review the discussion on attitudes and characteristics of interviewers in Chapter Four and the guidelines for interviewing children in this chapter. With this information in mind, create a plan for the interview, using the following questions to guide your thinking: 1. Based upon what Inez has told you about the case and what she wishes to know about the girls, what are your goals for this interview with Tannie and Lindie? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 2. How will you demonstrate that you are sensitive to Tannie and Lindie’s culture? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________
  • 31. ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 3. How do you think that Tannie and Lindie feel about the upcoming meeting with you? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 4. Describe the ideal setting for the interview. _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 5. What climate would you like to establish? How will you do so? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________
  • 32. _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 6. How will you begin the interview or the greeting? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 7. What activities or play will you use in your time with Tannie and Lindie? How does your approach help you meet the goals that you established in Question 1? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ Working with an Interpreter As you begin to prepare for the interview with Tannie and Lindie, you realize that you will need an interpreter. The likely candidate is the aide. Because you already speak fluent Spanish and are fairly fluent in French, you have never needed an interpreter. You find an article about interpreters in a professional journal and read it to see if you can discover any guidelines that might help you plan and conduct this interview.
  • 33. Go to the website that accompanies this book: www.cengagebrain.com/shop/ISBN/1111298432. Read the article “Working with Sign Language Interpreters in Human Service Settings.” This article will help you understand the role of interpreters. Answer the following questions. 1. What is the role of an interpreter? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 2. What does the interpreter not do? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 3. You will need to ask the custodian if he would be willing to be an interpreter for this intake interview. What will you tell him? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________
  • 34. _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ 4. Review the plans that you made for the intake interview with Tannie and Lindie. How does having an interpreter present change those plans? _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________________________________ ___________________________ Self-Assessment As you reflect on what you have read and practiced in Chapters Four and Five, think about your responses to the following questions: 1. When you think about conducting an interview, what do you believe are the most important attitudes and characteristics? 2. How will you balance the need to gather information about the client with the need to listen carefully? 3. What is different about interviewing children? 4. Explain how you might use an interpreter to interview a client. Describe your role. References
  • 35. Brouillet, P., & Lepine, R. (2005). Working memory and children’s use of retrieval to solve addition problems. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 91(3), 183–204. Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E., & Conway, A. R. A. (1999). Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128, 309–331. Feldman, R. S. (2010). Child development (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Finkelhor, D., & Dziuba-Leatherman, J. (1994). Victimization of children. American Psychologist, 49, 173–183. Gottman, J. M. (1977). Toward a definition of social isolation in children. Child Development, 48, 513–517. Henderson, D. & Thompson C. (2011). Counseling children (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Lamerez, A., Kuepper, N., & Bruning, N. (2005). Prevalence of obesity, binge eating, and night eating in a cross-sectional field survey of 6-year-old children and their parents in a German urban population. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 46(4), 385–93. LeFrancois, G. R. (2001). Of children (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Malina, R. M., & Bourchard, C. (1991). Subcutaneous fat distribution during growth. In C. Bouchard & F. D. Johnston (Eds.), Fat distribution during growth and later health outcomes. New York: Liss. Piaget, J. (1960). The child’s conception of the world. London: Routledge. Shaffer, K., & Kipp, D. (2010). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth. Sternberg, R. J. (2008). Cognitive psychology (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2003). Bullying is not a fact of life. Retrieved from
  • 36. http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/svp-0052 Weiten, W., Lloyd, M.A., Dunn, D. S., & Hammer, E. Y. (2009). Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st century (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. The Helping Process. Assessment to Termination Chapter 5: Interviewing Skills ISBN: 9781111298432 Authors: Tricia McClam, Marianne Woodside Copyright © Cengage Learning (2012) Effective Intake Interviewing Intake occurs every Monday morning at 8:00. A pre-intake is a precaution with referrals from the court system. We want to protect our other clients. So these referrals are often on parole or probation and during the pre-intake, I consider attitude, any violent behavior history, and the presence of any communicable diseases. Mission Director, Miami Interviewing is described in the previous chapter as directed conversation or professional conversation. Many helpers consider it an art as well as a skilled technique that can be improved with practice. In the helping process, the intake interview is a starting point for providing help. Its main purpose is to obtain an understanding of the problem, the situation, and the applicant. A clear statement of the goals of the interview helps both participants reach the intended outcomes. In the example above, the goal of intake is to screen referrals for several factors. A number of factors influence interviewing in the helping professions. Some factors apply directly to the interviewer, such as attitudes, characteristics, and communication skills. Others are determined by the agency under whose auspices the interview occurs: the setting, the purpose of the agency, the kinds of information to be gathered, and recordkeeping. This
  • 37. chapter explores many of these factors. The intake interview is usually the first face-to-face contact between the helper and the applicant. In some agencies, the person who does the intake interview will be the helping professional whose primary responsibility is intake interviews. Interviews are also a part of the subsequent helping process, and some of the skills used in the intake interview apply there, too. This chapter uses the term interviewer to refer to the helping professional who is conducting the interview. This chapter is about effective interviewing: the attitudes and characteristics of interviewers, the skills that make them effective interviewers, how these skills are used in structured interviews, and the pitfalls to avoid when interviewing. We refer you to Figure 4.1 to review the place that intake interviewing has in the helping process. For each section of the chapter, you should be able to accomplish the following objectives. Figure 4.1 The Helping Process · Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers · List two reasons why the attitudes and characteristics of the interviewer are important to the interview process. · Describe four populations of clients that require a culturally sensitive approach. · Name five characteristics that make a good interviewer. · Draw a physical space that encourages positive interactions between the client and the interviewer. · List barriers that discourage a positive interview experience. · Essential Communication Skills · List the essential communication skills that contribute to effective interviewing. · Demonstrate three interviewing skills. · Support the importance of listening as an important interviewing skill. · Offer a rationale for questioning as an art. · Write a dialogue illustrating responses that an interviewer
  • 38. might use in an intake interview. · Interviewing Pitfalls · Name four interviewing pitfalls. Attitudes and Characteristics of Interviewers The attitudes and characteristics of an interviewer are particularly important during the initial interview because this meeting marks the beginning of the helping relationship. Research supports the view that the personal characteristics of interviewers can strongly influence the success or failure of helping (Capuzzi & Gross, 2009). In fact, Brammer and MacDonald (2003) concluded after a review of numerous studies that these personal characteristics are as significant in helping as the methods that are used. One approach to the attitudes and characteristics of interviewers focuses on the self and on the treatment of the other person. Those related to self include self-awareness and personal congruence, whereas respect, empathy, and cultural sensitivity are among the attitudes related to treatment of another person. Similarly, elsewhere in the literature, other perspectives on helping attitudes and characteristics have as common themes the ability to communicate, self-awareness, empathy, responsibility, and commitment (Woodside & McClam, 2009). The interviewer communicates a helping attitude to the applicant in several ways, including greeting, eye contact, facial expressions, and friendly responses. The applicant’s perceptions of the interviewer’s feelings are also important in his or her impression of the quality of the interview. Communicating warmth, acceptance, and genuineness promotes a climate that facilitates the exchange of information, which is the primary purpose of the initial interview. The following dialogue illustrates these qualities. INTERVIEWER: (stands as applicant enters) Hello, Mr. Johnson (shakes hands and smiles). My name is Clyde Dunn— call me Clyde. I’ll be talking with you this morning. Please have a seat. Did you have any trouble finding the office? APPLICANT: No, I didn’t. My doctor is in the building next
  • 39. door, so I knew the general location. INTERVIEWER: Good. Sometimes this complex is confusing because the buildings all look alike. Have you actually been to the Hard Rock Cafe in Cancun (pointing to the applicant’s shirt)? APPLICANT: No, I haven’t. A friend brought me this T-shirt. I really like it. INTERVIEWER: They certainly are popular. I see them all over the place. Well, I’m glad you could come in this morning. Let’s talk about why you’re here. The interviewer communicates respect for the applicant by standing and shaking hands. It is also easy to imagine that Clyde Dunn is smiling and making eye contact with Mr. Johnson. Clyde takes control of the interview by introducing himself, suggesting how Mr. Johnson might address him, and asking him to have a seat. His concern about Mr. Johnson finding the office and his interest in the T-shirt communicate warmth and interest in him as a person. Clyde also reinforces Mr. Johnson’s request for help in a supportive way. All these behaviors reflect an attitude on Clyde’s part that increases Mr. Johnson’s comfort level and facilitates the exchange of information. The positive climate created by such a beginning should be matched by a physical setting that ensures confidentiality, eliminates physical barriers, and promotes dialogue. It is disconcerting to the applicant to overhear conversations from other offices or to be interrupted by phone calls or office disruptions. He or she is sharing a problem, and such events may lead to worries about the confidentiality of the exchange. Physical barriers between the client and the interviewer (most commonly, desks or tables) also contribute to a climate that can interfere with relationship building. As much as the physical layout of the agency allows, the interviewer should meet applicants in a setting where communication is confidential and disruptions are minimal. It is preferable to have a furniture arrangement that places the interviewer and the applicant at
  • 40. right angles to one another without tables or desks between them and that facilitates eye contact, positive body language, and equality of position. A sensitive interviewer is also cognizant of other kinds of barriers, such as sexism, racism or ethnocentrism, ageism, and attitudes towards sexual orientation or disabilities. Problems inevitably arise if the interviewer allows any biases or stereotypes to contaminate the helping interaction. To help you think about your own biases and stereotypes, indicate whether you believe each of the following statements is true or false. T F Boys are smarter than girls when it comes to subjects like math and science. T F Men do not want to work for female bosses. T F Mothers should stay home until their young children are in school. T F Women cannot handle the pressures of the business world. T F Asians are smarter than other ethnic groups. T F People on welfare do not want to work. T F People who do not attend church have no moral principles. T F A mandatory retirement age of 65 is necessary because people
  • 41. at that age have diminished mental capacity. T F The older people get, the lower their sexual interest and ability. T F Gays are incapable of commitment in relationships. How did you respond to these statements? Each statement reflects an unjustified opinion that is based solely on a stereotype of gender, race, age, or attitude toward sexual orientation. Sensitivity to issues of ethnicity, race, gender, age, and sexual orientation is important when interviewing. Many clients and families have backgrounds very different from that of the interviewer. In the United States today, an increasing number of the population originates from non-European backgrounds, a large number of clients are women, and the population proportion of elderly people is increasing rapidly. For many people in these populations, life is difficult, and they have few places to turn for help. Many of them live in poverty, have inadequate education, have a disproportionate chance of getting involved in the criminal justice system (either as a victim or a perpetrator), possess few useful job skills, are unemployed, and suffer major health problems at a disproportionate rate (Anderson & Middleton, 2005). Interviewers should ask themselves, “How do I become sensitive to my clients and relate to them in a way that respects and supports their race, culture, gender, age, and sexual orientation?” The following points may be helpful. These points are also important to consider during the assessment phase that we talked about in the previous chapter. Each Client is Unique It is easy to stereotype cultural, racial, gender, or age groups, but clients cannot be understood strictly in terms of their particular culture. For example, poverty-stricken, homeless clients share values and experience similar life events, but they
  • 42. are not all the same. Interviewers must take special care to get to know each individual client rather than categorizing him or her as a member of one particular group. One interviewer for example, explained how she struggles to see each individual as unique: “I see one face and then I see ten familiar faces. It is important to see every face as a different one, no matter what you think the outcome will be.” Language has Different Meanings Do not assume that words mean the same to everyone who is interviewed. When questions are posed, clients sometimes do not understand the terminology. Likewise, words or expressions that clients use may have a very different meaning for the interviewer. For example, questions about family and spouse are familiar subjects in an intake interview. When clients talk about “partners” or “family,” these terms can have various meanings, depending on the cultural background and life experiences of the individual being interviewed. For example, in the Native American culture, the family is an extended one that includes many members of the clan. For gay men and lesbian women, the word partner has the special meaning of “significant other.” Another example of language having different meanings is when working with a client who is deaf. One general rule of thumb is to avoid idioms and figurative language, such as “Cat got your tongue?” Someone who is hearing impaired may respond “Where is the cat?” after interpreting the phrase literally. A second general rule is to be aware of words with multiple meanings. For example, hard may mean difficult or it could mean rigid or unyielding. Words with multiple meanings are difficult for individuals with hearing impairment. Explain the Purpose of the Intake Interview and the Interviewer’s Role Clients may show up for the interview without understanding its purpose or the role of the interviewer in the helping process. Confidentiality may also be an important issue for them— sharing information about themselves and others may be contrary to the rules of their culture. For example, for many
  • 43. people raised in Asian cultures, to describe a problem to someone who is not in the family implies making the matter public, an act that is believed to bring shame to the family. Clients May be Different from You It is easy to make the mistake of expecting the clients we serve to be like us. We begin the interview process wanting to find similarities as a way of building a bridge to them. When clients prove to be very different, or we cannot understand them, we often want them to change so that they will be easier to “manage.” In the United States, we often like to think of our country as a melting pot in which all cultures mix together and lose their original identities. When individuals do not want to lose their own culture, there is a tendency to blame them for being difficult. Interviewers must take special care in the interview process to let clients know that there is respect for differences. We have assembled some suggestions for developing sensitivity in interviewing individuals with certain cultural backgrounds (Atkinson, Morten, & Sue, 2004; Gilligan, 1982; Slattery, 2004; Sue & Sue, 2007). These are meant to be guidelines and points of awareness; they should be used with caution. As we mentioned earlier, individuals seldom exhibit all the characteristics of their cultural group. Interviewing Clients of Native American Origin In many Native American cultures, sharing information about oneself and one’s family is difficult. It is important not to give others information that would embarrass the family or imply wrongdoing by a family member. Listening behaviors such as maintaining eye contact and leaning forward are considered inappropriate and intrusive in some Native American cultures. For many Native Americans, trust increases as you become more involved in their lives and show more interest in them. Making home visits and getting to know the family can significantly improve an interviewer’s chances of getting relevant information. Native Americans tend not to make decisions quickly. The slowness of the process could influence
  • 44. how soon the client is willing to share information or make judgments. Native American cultures sometimes incorporate a fatalistic element—a belief that events are predetermined. During the initial stages of the process, the client may not understand how his or her responses and actions can influence the course of service delivery. Interviewing Clients with a Common Background of Spanish Language and Customs Individuals living in the United States who are of Mexican, Central and South American, or Caribbean ancestry are often referred to as Hispanic, Latino, and Chicano. There is actually little agreement on the appropriate term for identification across groups and even within subgroups. Although they share some commonalities, they may differ in appearance, country of origin, date of immigration, location and length of time in the United States, customs, and proficiency in English. Interviewers should be sensitive to terminology and avoid stereotypes. Many cultures with this common background view informality as an important part of any activity, even the sharing of information. Taking time to establish rapport with the client before direct questioning begins is helpful. Some people of this origin may be perceived as submissive to authority because they appear reticent or reluctant to answer questions. Their behavior, in fact, may be shyness or the natural response to a language barrier. The father may be seen as aloof as he performs his roles of earning a living for the family and establishing the rules. The mother and other members of the family tend to assume more nurturing roles. Questions that do not take these roles into consideration may be misinterpreted by the clients or may suggest to them that the interviewer is an outsider incapable of understanding the culture or of helping them. Fatalism often plays a role in these cultures. These clients may not see any point in discussing the future, preferring to talk about the present.
  • 45. Interviewing African Americans Many African Americans do not believe that they receive the same treatment from social service agencies and professionals as Caucasian Americans. Reactions to this belief include a distrust of the human service delivery system, anger about discriminatory treatment, or both. This distrust may result in a reluctance to share information during the intake interview. During the intake interview, it is important to focus on concrete issues that can be connected to services. This approach shows respect for the client’s right to expect fair treatment and quality services (Sue & Sue, 2007). When being interviewed by a Caucasian professional, an African American may feel powerless or believe that his or her input does not matter. Consideration of cultural values such as family characteristics, extended family and friends, educational orientation and experiences, spirituality, and racial identity may help demonstrate to the client that his or her input does matter (Sue & Sue, 2007). Interviewing Women Many women do not know how to talk about the difficulties that they are experiencing, and they may not know how to respond to the questions they are asked. Some have had few opportunities to discuss their problems and may believe they do not have the right to complain. Listening carefully is very important. Anger may play a part in the initial interview. Many women come to the helping process frustrated, either because their efforts have been unrecognized or because they believe that others expect them to be perfect. Often this anger must be expressed before any information can be gathered. Women often feel powerless and do not expect the bureaucracy to serve them well. They may be reluctant to communicate and doubtful that the interview or the process as a whole can make a difference. Women may also fill different roles in their lives that may conflict or cause confusion. When interviewing about client strengths, women from some traditional cultures in the United
  • 46. States may defer to males and elders and subordinate their own individuality, yet at work and at school, they may be assertive and confident (Gil & Vasquez, 1996). Without exploration, these differences may be perceived as weaknesses while in fact, the flexibility and role shifts may be strengths. Learning about roles and demands contributes to an understanding of the client’s situation. Women may be overly dependent as clients and assume that the interviewer will take complete control of the interview. They may want the interviewer to be the one to identify problems and possible goals. In such cases, care should be taken to give the woman opportunities and encouragement to respond more fully. Interviewing Elderly Clients In this society, elderly people are often disregarded and devalued. The interviewer must show respect for the elderly client’s answers and opinions about the issues discussed. Such a client needs to be assured that his or her responses are important and have been heard by the helper. Pay special attention to the elderly client’s description of support in his or her environment. Many live in an environment of decreasing support (changing neighborhood, death of friends) and with decreasing mobility. Others live with limited family support. These clients may not realize how their environment has changed. Elderly clients may be reluctant to share their difficulties for fear of losing much of their independence. They may understate their needs or overstate the amount of support they have, hoping to avoid changes in their living conditions, such as being removed from their homes or relinquishing their driving privileges. Interviewing Individuals with Disabilities Although individuals with disabilities are not traditionally considered a cultural group, it is important to develop a sensitivity to the issues these individuals may encounter. Attitudes toward people with disabilities are often based on the amount of information and education about disabilities and on
  • 47. the amount of contact a person has had with individuals with disabilities (Atkinson & Hackett, 2004). These factors are also the best predictors of positive attitudes toward people with disabilities (Yuker, 1994). Helping professionals working with this population need to know about mental, physical, and emotional disabilities; the onset of disability; acceptance of disability; disabilities as handicaps; accommodations; and treatment. A major source of information about a disability is the client. As with other clients, establish the helping relationship by building rapport and trust. Then address the disability or condition: Is it the problem? If not, does it affect the problem? Is it even related to the reason the client is seeking services? Don’t make assumptions about why the individual is there or about the disability, and don’t generalize. Each person is unique. Interviewers also need to increase self-awareness about their own attitudes and knowledge. Know your limits and control your reactions. Increase your knowledge by learning from your client about a particular disability, the difficulties faced, and the environmental situations that are problematic. Interviewing Sexual Minorities In this society, discrimination against members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community is practiced in religious, legal, economic, and social contexts. This discrimination exists as an obvious external practice as well as a more subtle internal practice. To begin work with individuals who are part of the GLBT community, interviewers need information about lifestyle issues and challenges these individuals confront. Issues include understanding the effects of prejudice, developing a positive identity, and becoming more aware of community resources. Those in the GLBT community also experience a loss of support from family and friends and are often victimized and harassed. One way interviewers can establish a positive atmosphere is by using non-heterosexist language such as “partners” instead of “husband and wife.” Intake forms also can be revised to use non-heterosexist
  • 48. language (Sue & Sue, 2007). It is also important to conduct intake interviews that focus on the special issues described earlier that this community experiences. These are only a few of the differences that helpers may encounter during the intake interview with individuals of various ethnic, racial, gender, and age groups. In several ways, helpers can continue to learn more about how to interview culturally diverse clients. Among them are becoming knowledgeable about other cultures, reading professional articles that focus on ways to modify the interviewing process to meet the needs of certain client groups, and talking with other helpers whose own cultural origins give them insight into cultural barriers. Gaining an understanding of diversity is a process that continues throughout the professional life of every effective helper. Such an understanding enhances the interviewing environment for both parties. Essential Communication Skills Communication forms the core of the interviewing process. In interviewing, communication is the transmission of messages between applicant and helper. As the first face-to-face contact, the interview is a purposeful activity for both participants. In many cases, the motivation is a mutual desire to decide whether the applicant is in the right place for the needed services. This is a negotiation that is facilitated by effective communication skills. An important skill that promotes the comfort level of the applicant and lays the foundation for a positive helping relationship is using language the person understands. This means avoiding the use of technical language. For example, terms such as eligibility, resources, and Form 524 may not mean much to an applicant who is not familiar with the human service system. Another example is to imagine that the interviewer is discussing the benefits of taking a vocational or interest test. Rather than going into detail about the validity or reliability of the test, the helper should discuss how it might help in establishing a vocational objective. Using language or words the
  • 49. applicant does not understand tends to create distance and disengagement. Congruence between verbal and nonverbal messages is another way to facilitate the interaction between an applicant and a helper. A major part of the meaning of a message is communicated nonverbally, so when conflict is apparent between the verbal and nonverbal messages, the applicant is likely to believe the nonverbal message. A common example of this is the person who says, “Yes, I have time to talk with you now,” while dialing the phone or looking through her desk drawer for a folder. The lack of eye contact or any other encouraging nonverbal message communicates to us that the person is indeed busy or preoccupied with other matters. Another skill that facilitates the interview process is active listening—making a special effort to hear what is said, as well as what is not said. An interviewer who is sensitive to what the applicant is communicating, verbally as well as nonverbally, gains additional information about what is really going on with the individual. This ability is particularly helpful in situations in which the presenting problem may differ from the underlying problem and when interviewing an individual from another culture. Later in the chapter, we present a more detailed discussion of listening as it relates to the intake interview. A popular way to elicit information is by asking questions. Questioning is an art as well as a skill. Unfortunately, helpers don’t often develop their questioning skills, relying instead on questioning techniques that have served them well in informal or friendly encounters. Typically, this means asking questions that focus on facts, such as “What happened?” “Who said that?” “Where are you?” “Why did you react that way?” Questions such as these usually lead to other questions, placing the burden of the interview on the helper and allowing the applicant to settle into a more passive role. The applicant’s participation is then limited to answering questions, so the interview may begin to feel like the game “Twenty Questions.” Skillful questioning combined with effective responding helps elicit information and
  • 50. keep the interaction flowing. Appropriate questioning and responding techniques are introduced later in this chapter. Patterns of communication vary from culture to culture, according to religion, ethnicity, gender, and lifestyle differences. In the dominant culture in the United States, it is effective to use a reflective listening approach when feelings are important. Many of the techniques that are useful in this approach are not appropriate for all cultures. For example, eye contact is inappropriate among some Eskimos. The sense of space and privacy is different for Middle Easterners, who often stand closer to others than Americans do. Some people from Asian cultural backgrounds may prefer more indirect, subtle approaches of communication. Thus, a single interviewing approach may have different effects on people from various cultural backgrounds. The skillful and sensitive helper must be aware of these differences. Both spoken language and body language are expressions of culture. Many helpers work with clients from several cultures, each with their own assumptions and ways of structuring information. Both talking and listening provide many occasions for misunderstanding. Assigning great significance to any single gesture by the applicant is also risky, but a pattern or a change from one behavior to another is meaningful (Sielski, 1979). Once again, the key is the helper’s awareness during the interview process. Now that you have read about general guidelines for essential communication, let’s focus on the specific skills of listening, questioning, and responding. Interviewing skills aim to enhance communication, which involves both words and nonverbal language. Spoken language varies among individuals and cultures. Understanding spoken language is challenging because it is always changing, it is usually not precise, and it is ambiguous. Body language, which is also important and challenging to understand, includes body movement, posture, facial expression, and tone of voice. Knowing the ways in which body language varies culturally can
  • 51. help the interviewer fathom the thoughts and feelings of the applicant. In talking with an applicant, the helper must strive for effective communication, making sure that the receiver of the message understands the message in the way the sender intended. In the intake interview, the helper listens, interprets, and responds. To understand the applicant’s problem as fully as possible, the helper constantly interprets the meanings of behaviors and words. He or she should always have a “third ear” focused on this deeper interpretation. At the same time, the applicant is interpreting the words and behaviors of the interviewer. An effective interviewer can help the applicant make connections and interpretations. Also contributing to correct interpretations and connections is a good working relationship between the two of them, good timing, and sensitivity to whether the material being discussed is near the applicant’s level of awareness. A caseworker at a settlement house describes the initial meeting at her agency. She is sensitive to how clients are treated this first visit; she expresses concern that without sensitive treatment, the clients may not return. Telling a potential client to “come back later” may be the very thing that discourages the person who has finally and perhaps even agonizingly decided to come for help. It is possible the person will never return. A particularly challenging group to work with are gangs. Establishing a relationship is critical and involves talking about cars, the neighborhood, girlfriends, or clothes—anything but crime. A Los Angeles law enforcement officer uses this approach to identify commonalities. Once a comfort level is established, then a gang member will often share what’s happening in the neighborhood. Both of these helping professionals are experienced at intake interviewing. They value the helping relationship and recognize its importance in the service delivery that is to follow. To establish the relationship, they use communication skills, such
  • 52. as listening, questioning, and responding. These are discussed and illustrated next, with excerpts from intake interviews. Listening Listening is the way most information is acquired from applicants for services. The interviewer listens to the applicant’s verbal and nonverbal messages. “Listening with the eyes” means observing the client’s facial expressions, posture, gestures, and other nonverbal behaviors, which may signal his or her mood, mental state, and degree of comfort. Verbal messages communicate the facts of the situation or the problem and sometimes the attendant feelings. Often, however, feelings are not expressed verbally, but nonverbal messages provide clues. A good listener should be sensitive to the congruence (or lack of it) between the client’s verbal and nonverbal messages. The interviewer must pay careful attention to both forms of communication. Good listening is an art that requires time, patience, and energy. The interviewer must put aside whatever is on his or her mind— whether that is what to recommend for the previous client, the tasks to be accomplished by the end of the day, or making a grocery list—to focus all attention on the applicant. The interviewer must also be sensitive to the fact that his or her behavior gives the applicant feedback about what has been said (Epstein, 1985). During the interview, the helper must also recognize cultural factors that play into the interpretation of body language. For example, the proper amount of eye contact and the appropriate space between helper and applicant may vary according to the cultural identity of the applicant. As you can see, listening is indeed complicated. What behaviors characterize good listening? How are attentiveness and interest best communicated to the applicant? Attending behavior, responsive listening, and active listening are terms that indicate ways in which helpers let applicants know that they are being heard. The following five behaviors are a set of guidelines for the interviewer (Egan, 2010, pp. 134– 135). They can be easily remembered by the acronym SOLER.
  • 53. S: Face the client Squarely; that is, adopt a posture that indicates involvement. O: Adopt an Open posture. Crossed arms and crossed legs can be signs of lessened involvement with or availability to others. An open posture can be a sign that you’re open to the client and to what he or she has to say. L: Remember that it is possible at times to Lean toward the other. The word lean can refer to a kind of bodily flexibility or responsiveness that enhances your communication with a client. E: Maintain good Eye contact. Maintaining good eye contact is a way of saying, “I’m with you; I’m interested; I want to hear what you have to say.” R: Try to be relatively Relaxed. Being relaxed means two things. First, it means not fidgeting nervously or engaging in distracting facial expressions. Second, it means becoming comfortable with using your body as a vehicle of personal contact and expression. Attending behavior is another term for appropriate listening behaviors. Eye contact, attentive body language (such as leaning forward, facing the client, using facilitative and encouraging gestures), and vocal qualities such as tone and rate of speech are ways for the interviewer to communicate interest and attention (Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett, 2010). Attending behavior also means allowing the applicant to determine the topic. Other guidelines for good listening are provided by Epstein (1985, pp. 18–19): 1. Be attentive to general themes rather than details. 2. Be guided in listening by the purpose of the interview in order to screen out irrelevancies. 3. Be alert to catch what is said. 4. Normally, don’t interrupt, except to change the subject intentionally, to stop excessive repetition, or to stop clients from causing themselves undue distress. 5. Let the silences be, and listen to them. The client may be finished, or thinking, or waiting for the practitioner, or feeling
  • 54. resentful. Resume talking when you have made a judgment about what the silence means, or ask the client if you do not understand. Skillful listeners also hear other things that may contribute to understanding what is going on. A shift in the conversation may be a clue that the applicant finds the topic too painful or too revealing, or it might indicate that there is an underlying connection between the two topics. Another consideration is what the applicant says first. “I’m not sure why I’m here” or “My probation officer told me to come see you” give clues about the applicant’s feelings about the meeting. Also, the way the applicant states the problem may indicate how he or she perceives it. For example, an applicant who states, “My mother says I’m always in trouble,” may be signaling a perception of the situation that differs from the mother’s. Concluding remarks may also reveal what the applicant thinks has been important in the interview. The skilled interviewer also listens for recurring themes, what is not said, contradictions, and incongruencies. Good listeners make good interviewers, but as you have just read, listening is a complex activity. It requires awareness of one’s own nonverbal behaviors, sensitivity to cultural factors, and attention to various nuances of the interaction. It is further complicated by the fact that people seeking assistance don’t always say what they mean or behave rationally. However, the use of good listening skills always increases the likelihood of a successful intake interview. Questioning Questioning, a natural way of communicating, has particular significance for intake interviews. It is an important technique for eliciting information, which is a primary purpose of intake interviewing. Many of us view questioning as something most people do well, but it is in fact a complex art. This section elaborates on questioning skills, introduces the appropriate use of questions, identifies problems that should be considered, and explores the advantages of open inquiry as one way to elicit information.
  • 55. Questioning is generally accepted by some as low-level or unacceptable interviewer behavior (Carkhuff, 1969; Egan, 2010). Others view it as a complex skill with many advantages (Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett, 2003). Let’s explore its complexity and its advantages. Long, Paradise, and Long (1981) give three reasons that questioning is a complex skill: Questioning may assist and inhibit the helping process; it can establish a desired as well as an undesired pattern of exchange; and it can place the client in the one-sided position of being interrogated or examined by the helper. For these reasons, we may consider questioning an art form. The wording of a question is often less important than the manner and tone of voice used to ask it. One human service professional says: “I think that people have to be detectives.... They have to enjoy walking into a new setting and seeing what is there.... It is not just going out with your 12-page assessment form and asking alienating questions.” Another helper who works for a school for the deaf concurs: The “skills are those involved with being a private eye, nosy in a tactful way.” Also, too many questions will confuse the applicant or produce defensiveness, whereas too few questions place the burden of the interview on the client, which may lead to the omission of some important areas for exploration. The pace of questions influences the interview, too. If the pace is too slow, the applicant may interpret this as lack of interest, but a pace that is too fast may cause important points to be missed. A delicate balance is required. What are the advantages of questioning? One is that questioning saves time. If the interviewer knows what information is needed, then questioning is a direct way to get it. Questioning also focuses attention in a particular direction, moves the dialogue from the specific to the general as well as from the general to the specific, and clarifies any inaccuracies, confusion, or inconsistencies. Let’s examine some examples of the appropriate uses of questioning. After each example provide two relevant questions.
  • 56. · To begin Could you tell me a little about yourself? What would you like to talk about? Could we talk about how I can help? You work at the county Office on Aging. A woman comes in with her elderly mother. List two questions that you might use to begin the interview. · To obtain information How long did you stay with your grandmother? What happens when you refuse to do as your boss asks? Who do you think is pressuring you to do that? Can you give me an example of a time when you felt that way? A client tells you about mistreatment by her boss at her new job. She claims that she is being sexually harassed. What two questions would help you understand what happened? · To focus Why don’t we focus on your relationship with your daughter? What happens when you do try to talk to your husband? Of the three problems you’ve mentioned today, which one should we discuss first? A client is worried about how her surgery will go, who will care for her children while she is in the hospital, and whether she will be fired for missing so much work. She wrings her hands and seems ready to burst into tears. What are two questions that would focus her attention? · To clarify Could you describe again what happened when she left? How did you feel about that conversation compared with others you have had with him? What is different about these two situations? A young man shares his anguish over his mother’s death a year ago. You notice that he is smiling, and you are confused about what he is really saying. Write two questions that help clarify what is going on. · To identify strengths What is a current problem you have also faced in the past? Can you now use the same resources to solve your current problem? What did you do to keep the problem from turning into a crisis? A family member with a disability is questioned to assess functioning level and suitability for a program that requires her to ride public transportation. Write two questions to help you identify her strengths. These are examples of interview situations in which the helper might legitimately use questions. In all of them, the general rule
  • 57. of questioning applies: Question to obtain information or to direct the exchange into a more fruitful channel. Although questioning may seem to be the direct path to information, sometimes this strategy can have negative effects. Long, Paradise, and Long (1981) suggest that interviewers not rely on questions to carry the interaction or interview. This is particularly problematic for beginning helpers because people generally have a tendency to ask a question whenever there is silence. Questions may also be inappropriate when the interviewer does not know what to say. Asking questions nervously may lead to more questions, which can put the interviewer in the position of focusing on thinking up more questions rather than listening to what the client is saying. Prematurely questioning to assess client strengths during the interview can also be problematic and may be viewed as rejection by the client. An overreliance on questioning can create other problems for both interviewers and clients. For the client, too many questions can limit self-exploration, placing him or her in a dependent role in which the only responsibility is to respond to the questions. A client may also begin to feel defensive, hostile, or resentful at being interrogated. Using too many questions may place the interviewer in the role of problem solver, giving him or her most of the responsibility for generating alternatives and making decisions. In the long term, over-reliance on questioning leads to bad habits and poor helping skills. Using questions to the exclusion of other types of helping responses eventually results in the withering of these other skills (as discussed in the next section). In conclusion, questioning is an important strategy for effective interviewing, but it is more than a strategy for obtaining information. Because of the subtleties of questioning, the matter of its appropriate uses in interviewing, and the potential problems, questioning is an art that requires practice. The skillful interviewer who uses questioning to best advantage knows when to use open and closed inquiries to gather
  • 58. information during the intake interview. These types of questions are discussed next. Closed and Open Inquiries The questions used in intake interviews can be categorized as either open or closed inquiries. Determining which one to use depends on the interviewer’s intent. If specific information is desired, closed questions are appropriate: “How old are you?” “What grade did you complete in school?” “Are you married?” If the interviewer wants the client to talk about a particular topic or elaborate on a subject that has been introduced, open questions are preferred: “What is it like being the oldest of five children?” “Could you tell me about your experiences in school?” “How would you describe your marriage?” Closed questions elicit facts. The answer might be yes, no, or a simple factual statement. An interview that focuses on completing a form generally consists of closed questions like those in the previous paragraph. However, the interviewer must be cautious, for a series of closed questions may cause the client to feel defensive, sensing an interrogation rather than an offer of help. One approach is to save the form until the end of the interview, review it, and complete the unanswered questions at that time. If the completion of an intake form is allowed to take precedence in the interview, the interviewer misses the opportunity to influence the client’s attitudes toward the agency, getting help, and later service provision. Perhaps equally important, information that could be acquired through listening and nonverbal messages may be missed if the interviewer is focused on writing answers on the intake form. Open inquiries, on the other hand, are broader, allowing the expression of thoughts, feelings, and ideas. This type of inquiry requires a more extensive response than a simple yes or no. The exchange of this type of information contributes to building rapport and explaining a situation or a problem. Consider the following example. FATHER: I’m having trouble with the oldest boy, William. He’s in trouble again at school.