Advanced Interviewing: Difficult Interviews, Interviewing Children, Parents, & Teachers, Issues of Diversity

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Advanced Interviewing Difficult Interviews,
Interviewing Children, Parents, Teachers,
Issues of Diversity

• September 27, 2004

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Examples of Difficult Behavior During Clinical
Interview

• Clients who try and take control (i.e., talk too
  much!)
• Clients who cry
• Clients who do not talk
• Clients who become verbally or physically
  aggressive
• Clients who talk about disconcerting topics
• Non-emotive clients

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Motor DevelopmentAge Norms (In Months)

• SKILL 50 90
• Rolls over 2.8 4.7
• Sits alone 5.5 7.8
• Walks alone 12.1 14.3
• Stairs with help 17.0 22.0

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Language DevelopmentAverage Age in Months

• SKILL AVERAGE
• Babbling 6-10 months
• Comprehension 10-12 months
• First Word 13 months
• First 50 Words 13-18 months
• Vocabulary Spurt 18 months
• Two-Word Sentences 21 months

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Explaining Psychology to Children

• Most children will view the clinic as a doctors
  office.
• I am not the kind of doctor who gives shots! I
  am the kind of doctor who
• talks to kids about problems they are having at
  home or school.
• helps kids figure out why they are having trouble
  getting their work done (paying attention) in
  school.
• talks to kids about things that are worrying them
  (making them sad) and we try to figure out how to
  make them feel better.

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Use of Play During a Child Interview

• Develop rapport by knowing age appropriate
  interests. (Pokemon is out, Yu Gi Oh is in!)
• Use play as a mechanism for interviewing
• Allow the child to play while he/she talks
• Use toys that provide an opportunity for the
  child to share his/her thoughts (example on p.
  43).
• Allow the child to draw to show you his/her
  feelings.
• Ask the child to draw a picture of him/herself.
• Ask the child to draw a picture of his/her family
  doing something together.

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Avoiding Leading Questions

• Leading Question Do you get mad when your
  mother yells at you?
• Open Ended Question How do you feel when your
  mother yells at you?
• Alternative Question When your mother yells at
  you, do you feel mad, sad, or happy?
• Be careful to use a calm manner and tone of voice
  that does not reveal your feelings or personal
  biases!

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Interviewing Children about Emotions

• Draw a body shape and have child show where they
  feel different emotions.
• Use line drawings of faces (happy, sad, mad) and
  ask children to point to the face that shows how
  they would feel in a specific situation.
• Take the initial focus off of the child
• Some kids feel like sad when they have to go to
  time out and other kids feel mad. How do you
  feel?
• Lets pretend that there is a 5 year old girl who
  gets in trouble. What do you think she did to
  get in trouble?

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Behavioral Observations During Interview

• Childs ability to interact/relate to you.
• Childs language level (vocabulary, articulation,
  sentence structure).
• Childs nonverbal communication (eye contact,
  gestures).
• Childs emotions (facial expressions, behaviors,
  tone of voice).
• Childs play (any themes, age appropriate
  topics?).
• Childs cognitive abilities/though processes
  (childs knowledge, ability to coherently convey
  experiences).

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Interviewing Parents Developmental History

• Pregnancy/childbirth history
• Developmental milestones
• Language
• Motor
• Social
• Follow the same interview outline that I gave you
  in the basic interviewing lecture!
• Sample interview

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Hints for Interviewing Parents

• Take the parents perspective (they may feel
  guilty, angry at the child or themselves, scared,
  or be in denial). Dont blame the parent!
• Normalize therapy! They may think that bringing
  their child to the clinic is a reflection of
  their poor parenting skills or a suggestion that
  their child is crazy.
• Parents want to know how to help their children.
  Tell them how your assessment will do this.
• Once you make a diagnosis, you will know what
  therapy techniques will help.
• Diagnosis will qualify child for school services.

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Hints for Interviewing Parents (cont.)

• Help parents remember the childs developmental
  history by using landmarks (first birthday party,
  trip to the beach at 2, etc.).

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Taking a Cultural Perspective

• Use language that is appropriate to the parent or
  childs cultural background (i.e., are you using
  slang that is not appropriate for the clients
  culture?).
• Match the speed of your interaction to the
  clients cultural background (i.e., are you
  talking too fast?)
• Match your expectations to the family. Are there
  other family members that need to be interviewed?
  Who is the family leader in this particular
  family (grandmother, aunt, father, etc.).
• How does your appearance fit with the family
  culture? (Example of wearing a religious
  necklace).

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Taking a Cultural Perspective (cont.)

• Recognize that developmental expectations differ
  across cultures.
• Cultural beliefs about where children should
  sleep.
• Cultural beliefs about adolescent autonomy
  normal enmeshment.
• Cultural beliefs/success of different parenting
  styles.
• Use culturally sensitive toys in a play interview.

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Interviewing Teachers

• Work as a collaborator with the teacher (i.e., do
  not take an authoritarian role!).
• Ask the teachers opinion about the function or
  role of the childs behavior.
• What happens before the behavior.
• What happens after the behavior.
• Ask the teacher to fill out rating scales and/or
  behavioral charts describing the childs
  behavior.
• NEVER give advice until you have all of the data!