Process recording

Descriptions  of  Interviewing  Skills  

  Empathy     As  a  worker,  you  will  want  to  try  very  hard  to  understand  your  client’s  worldview   and  “try  to  walk  in  his/her  shoes.”    Your  responses  indicate  your  desire  to   understand  and  your  willingness  to  relate  to  the  situation  your  client  is  presenting.     Warmth  and  genuineness  are  commonly   associated  with  empathy.     Self-­‐disclosure     Self-­‐disclosure  should  always  be  linked  to  the  client’s  purpose.    “The  client  seeks   help  from  the  worker,  and  the  worker’s  feelings  about  personal  relationships  can   be  shared  only  in  ways  that  relate  directly  to  the  client’s  immediate  concerns”   (Shulman,  2009,  p.143).     Validation  of  feelings     This  skill  involves  the  worker  providing  the  best  response  to  the  client  regarding   the  perceived  client’s  emotion(s)  and/or  general  mood.    “You  must  be  very  worried   about  your  child,”  is  an  example  of  validation.    This  skill  is  very  much  like  reflective   listening.     Reflective  Listening     Listening  to  the  client’s  messages  and  reflecting  back  to  him/her  the  feelings  and   concerns  that  are  associated  with  those  messages.  Be  careful  not  to  use  this   technique  too  often  so  that  it  does  not  become  mechanical.     Close-­‐ended  questioning/probing     Involves  questions  that  seek  specific  information  from  the  client.    Often  these   questions  can  be  answered  in  a  single  word  or  brief  sentence.     Open-­‐ended  questioning/probing     Involves  questions  that  involve  seeking  greater  understanding  of  what  the  client  is   trying  to  convey.    This  type  of  probing  should  elicit  more  expressive   communication  from  the  client.    However,  it  is  often  dependent  upon  client   disposition,  mood,  and  general  affect.  

    Clarification     It  is  important  to  make  sure  that  you  are  on  the  “same  track”  as  the  client.    You  may   do  this  by  repeating  what  the  client  has  stated  or  by  seeking  “clarity”  by  asking  the   client  to  explain  further.    You  do  not  want  to  monopolize  the  session  but  it  is  crucial   that  you  accurately  understand  the  client’s  point  of  view.  

  Partializing   This  is  a  problem-­‐management  skill.    It  is  dismantling  a  complex  problem  into   component  parts.  Hepworth  et  al.,  (2010)  says  that  it  is  best  to  address  these  parts   one  at  a  time.  Through  listening,  understanding  and  acknowledgment,  the  worker   can  help  the  client  reduce  the  problem  to  smaller  manageable  components.     Summarizing     This  skill  is  particularly  useful  toward  the  latter  part  of  a  session.    Wrapping  up   what  has  been  discussed  in  summary  form  provides  the  client  and  worker  with  a   sense  of  accomplishment  regarding  issues  covered  during  the  interview/session.     Universalization     Normalizing  the  feelings  the  client  is  expressing  and  helping  the  client  to  feel  that   he/she  is  not  alone  is  experiencing  the  given  problem/situation.     Focused  Listening     Clients  and  practitioners  spend  limited  time  together  and  it  is  critical  that  they  use   that   time   fruitfully   by   focusing   on   the   issues   at   hand.   The   various   functions   of   focusing   are   selecting   topics   for   exploration,   exploring   topics   in   depth   and   maintaining  focus  and  keeping  on  topic.    Your  text  (Hepworth,  et  al.,  2010)   tells  us  that  focused  listening  enables  clients  to  draw  connecting  links  between  and   among   the   various   issues   being   discussed  when   these   connections   had   not   been   apparent.     Redirecting     A  deliberate  attempt  on  the  interviewer’s  part  to  redirect  and  get  the  client  to  move   from  “point  B”  back  to  “point  A.”    The  worker  may  say,  “Jerry,  you  were  discussing   your  child’s  behavior  but  I  noticed  you  seemed  to  jump  to  talking  about  the   weather,  I  think  we  would  be  better  off  discussing  your  child’s  behavior  at   this  time  in  our  work  together.  

    Interpretation     Conveying  to  the  client  your  understanding  of  his/her  thoughts  and  feelings.     Reassurance     Clients  experience  a  great  deal  of  trauma  in  their  lives.    They  often  become   overwhelmed  by  the  status  quo.    As  a  result,  the  worker  may  want  to  offer  “solace”   or  “reassurance”  that  matters  or  personal  situations  will  not  be  “this  way”  all  of  the   time.    In  offering  reassurance  it  is  critical  to  remember  to  be  realistic  and  not  to   offer  false  hope.  

  Suggestion     From  time  to  time  the  worker  may  be  in  a  position  to  offer  suggestions  on  ways  to   ameliorate  a  situation  or  condition.    This  skill  should  not  replace  the  “work  of  the   client,”  but  it  should  be  used  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  helping  process.     Silences     Effective  use  of  silence  has  long  been  a  social  work  tool.    Overtaking  the  worker-­‐ client  interview  is  not  good  for  client  progress.    Allow  for  silences  when   appropriate.    Often  silence  allows  the  client  to  think  and  share  more  of  his/her   thoughts.     Reframing     Helping  the  client  to  revisit  a  situation  and  view  the  situation  differently  by  looking   at  the  situation  and  pulling  out  its  productive  elements.     Confrontation     Helping  a  client  to  see  the  reality  of  his/her  situation  is  a  necessary  part  of  the   helping  process.    Hepworth  et  al.,  2010,  reminds  us  of  “facilitative  confrontation,”   which  is  designed  to  facilitate  the  client’s  work.