Reflection of content encourages interviewees to elaborate on the content area to which their attention is being called. Reflection of feeling is an intervention designed to intensify depth in the interview by focusing on the interviewee's feelings about the problem. Reflection of feeling is simi- lar to paraphrase, because both procedures feed back to the client the inter- viewer's perception. They differ in that they focus on different aspects of communication. Paraphrase relates to the content of communication, reflection to the affect.Summarizing is a selective condensation of what has transpired in the interview over a period of some time. Summarizing helps to extend the range of the interview. It is advisable to summarize when content has been sufficiently explored and transition to new content is appropriate or when the content presented has been disjointed and there is a need to pull together scattered related content.Transitions extend the range of the interview by making a change in the material under discussion. Transitions should be used to further the objective of the interview. Preparing the interviewee for the transition is important, as are being sensitive to the most appropriate place to intro- duce a transition, explaining the rationale for the transition, making a transition as smooth as possible, and not imposing a transition on a reluc- tant interviewee.Identifying and calling attention to feelings move the interview from a descriptive informational level to a more emotional and intimate level. This technique also extends the depth of the interview. Using this technique, the worker identifies feelings, gives them recognition, and attempts to focus interviewees' attention on their emotional responses. Advance sanctioning of feelings that may provoke shame or guilt is one method of encouraging the client to share sensitive information. Using euphemisms, figures of speech, and indirection in the interview also help the client to discuss threatening feelings and content. The inexperienced interviewer who is more comfortable with concrete material may attempt to discourage the client's expression of emotion by asking factual questions or shifting the focus to someone outside the interview.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Gerard Egan. The Skilled Helper: A Problem Management Approach to Helping, 5th ed. Monterey, Calif: Brooks/Cole, 1994. (357 pp.) Written by a professor of counseling and counselor oriented, this book has an intro- ductory section on theories of helping, after which most of the book is devoted to specific helping skills such as empathy, confrontation, self-disclosure, and the like.
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Publication Information: Book Title: The Social Work Interview: A Guide for Human Service Professionals. Contributors: Alfred Kadushin - author, Goldie Kadushin - author. Publisher: Columbia University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1997. Page Number: 170.
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