If you are studying psychology or if you are going to start going to psychological therapy, you are probably familiar with the concept of “psychological interview.” This consists of a conversation between a psychologist and the patient in which the professional asks the patient certain questions in order to get an idea about what their problem is, what are the damaged areas in their life and what are the strengths in their areas. that could support therapy. In the same way, it is the moment in which the patient can find out what the psychologist can offer him.
In this Psychology-Online article, you will see What is the psychological interview, the different types and techniques used. Thus, whether you are a future psychology professional or a patient, it will help you get a very useful global idea for your first interview.
What is psychological interview?
The psychological interview seeks define the patient in relation to their behaviorssearch for a diagnosis, search for the cause of the patient’s behavior and the reason for its maintenance and later check the person’s evolution.
One of the most important questions for a psychological interview is to ask the patient what the patient hopes to get from the therapy. At a general level, a psychology interview usually takes place in the psychologist’s own office and its duration ranges from about 20 minutesIf the first consultation is free, and one hour If the payment for the interview is like the rest of the appointments.
Sometimes, the psychological interview for adults can cover part of the next psychotherapy session with said interview.
Types of psychological interview
There are various types of psychological interview. This classification varies depending on the aspects that are taken into account. The format of the psychological interview depends on different variables.
Structure
If we look at the structure we find two types of interviews:
- Structured interview: In the structured psychological interview, the questions have been prepared in advance and are followed to the letter. Its advantage is that the patient himself can answer these questions as a questionnaire.
- Semi-structured interview: Although there are some basic questions, the order is not necessarily followed and new questions may appear or others may be omitted depending on the person’s problem.
Number of people
Psychological interviews are also classified depending on the number of people who participate in them. Let’s see what types there are according to this variable:
- Individual interview: The most common example of a psychological interview is in which the patient meets alone with his therapist in order to tell him about his problem. One of the advantages of the individual psychological interview is that the professional treats each case in depth.
- Group interview: It is common in group therapies. General questions are asked that each member of the group answers. Thus, each case is not analyzed in detail as in the individual interview.
Temporality
Depending on the moment of the therapy in which it is carried out, we obtain different types of psychological interview:
- Initial interview: This is a first contact between patient and therapist in which the main purpose is to make the patient feel comfortable.
- Supplementary information interview: It is about collecting data at a deeper level.
- Biographical interview: It is common to make a life line in which the most important moments of the patient’s life are reviewed, including important aspects of the moment of his birth and childhood.
- Clinical discharge interview: This is a final interview in order to verify that the various problems and concerns that the patient had have been resolved.
Psychological interview techniques
We have seen what the psychological interview is and its different typologies. Next, we will see various psychological interview techniques:
- Kind of questions: Psychological interview questions can be open or closed. The second would refer to yes and no answers, or those in which the answer is very specific, for example, asking who the patient lives with. With the first you get broader information, with the second you can specify some facts.
- echo technique: It is about repeating the last thing you said as a question in order to clarify and make the patient feel heard. If, for example, the patient says that he has three sisters, in order to ascertain the information you would ask the following: “Sisters?”
- Role playing or simulations: Sometimes during a clinical psychological interview the person finds it difficult to explain a situation. This is more common in boys or girls. In order to make their work easier, the person is asked to simulate a situation that they want to explain to us and to imitate what the other person would say to them in that situation. In a psychological interview with children, dolls can also be used to represent some experienced scene. Discover .
- Confrontation: It is about making the patient see that they have had some type of contradiction or some type of responsibility for the problem. This is done at an appropriate time, when there is some trust with the patient and in a calm way so that it does not feel like an attack.
- Position: The psychologist uses body techniques to make the patient feel at ease. This consists of looking at the patient although not constantly or having a posture leaning forward and straight, among others. It is common to use this technique in a psychological interview for adolescents and adults. In this article you will find more information about .
By combining these psychological interview techniques, it is possible to obtain all the necessary information from the patient so that an appropriate action plan can be developed for the problem to be resolved. If you doubt whether you need to go to a therapist, in this article, we will tell you.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Fernández-Ballesteros, R (2011). Psychological evaluation. Concepts, methods and case studies. Madrid: Pyramid.
- Moreno, C. (2005). Psychological evaluation. Madrid: Sanz and Torres.