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Assessment Interview

Assessment Interview. First step in assessment process: learn as much as possible about the person and their problem(s). Reasons: 1. to illuminate the causes 2. to predict probable course of disorder 3. to help the clinician decide on treatment strategies. Clinical Interviews.

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Assessment Interview

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  1. Assessment Interview First step in assessment process: learn as much as possible about the person and their problem(s). Reasons: 1. to illuminate the causes 2. to predict probable course of disorder 3. to help the clinician decide on treatment strategies

  2. Clinical Interviews • Are idiographic – tailored to the client’s unique needs • Conducted face-to-face – provides both verbal and nonverbal information (gestures, restlessness, discrepancy between statements and behaviors, etc.) • Often the first contact between the client and the clinician

  3. Assessment Interview • The clinician’s first tasks are to • Establish rapport • Gain client’s trust, respect and confidence • Present a nonjudgmental and accepting attitude

  4. Assessment Interview • The particular information desired depends on the clinician’s theoretical orientation. • Psychodynamic: needs and fantasies, memories of past events and relationships, how the client shapes the interview (process) • Behavioral: • S: stimuli that trigger the abnormal behavior • O: organism – self-image, thoughts, etc. • R: responses • C: consequences

  5. Assessment Interview • Cognitive – assumptions, interpretations, cognitive coping skills • Humanistic – person’s self-concept, unique perceptions

  6. Interview Formats • Structured – a series of prepared questions • Allows clinicians to cover the same issues with every client • Can compare the responses of one individual with another Advantages: standardized approach, increased reliability Disadvantage: may fail to reveal important information unique to the client Tends to be preferred by behaviorists

  7. Interview Formats • Unstructured – the clinician asks open-ended questions, then follows interesting leads Advantage: allows clinician to focus on important/unpredictable topics Client’s style and choices are seen as important information, in their own right Disadvantage: may overlook important clinical information Tends to be favored by psychodynamic and humanistic therapists

  8. Interview Formats • Semi-structured – consist of a set of structured questions, but the clinician is allowed to follow up on important/unanticipated topics • Increases reliability, while providing flexibility to handle unique situations • Ex: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SCID-II)

  9. Limitations of Clinical Interviews • Information may be pre-selected by the client (agenda) • Client may be unable to provide needed information (distorted perceptions, depression, psychosis, lack of insight) • Subjectivity of interviews (bias, halo effect, confirmatory bias, primacy effect, tendency to overemphasize negative information • Effect of interviewer variables (race, sex, age, appearance)

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