CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

CLINICAL
INTERVIEW
By Camae Gangcuangco, RPm
THE INTERVIEWER
The most pivotal element of a clinical interview is
the person who conducts it.
A skilled interviewer only is not a master of the
technical and practical aspects of the interview but
also demonstrates broad-based wisdom about the
human interaction it entails.
GENERAL
SKILLS
Before leaping into any interview, the interviewer should have
acquired some general skills to serve as a foundation for interviewing
in any context. These general skills focus on the interviewer’s own
frame of mind rather than any particular set of techniques.
Sommers-Flanagan describe several such requirements: quieting
yourself, being self-aware, and developing positive working
relationships.
 The term quieting yourself does not simply mean that the
interviewer shouldn’t talk much during the interview
(although rambling by the interviewer is usually not a good
QUIETING idea).
Rather than the interviewer’s speech, what should be

YOURSELF
quieted is the interviewer’s internal, self-directed thinking
pattern. To the extent that interviewers are preoccupied
by their own thoughts, they will struggle in the fundamental
task of listening to their clients.
Simply put, the voice in the interviewer’s own mind should
not interrupt or drown out the voice of the client.
As an example, consider Joseph, a second-year
graduate student in a clinical psychology program.
Joseph has just begun his supervised practicum
work in an outpatient mental health clinic, and
clinical interviews are among his frequent activities
at the site. As a novice interviewer, Joseph may find
a number of self-directed questions repeatedly
running through his mind while an interview takes
place:
“Was that a good question? Should I have asked
something else? What does this client think of me?
Do I come across as competent? Am I competent?
What should I ask next?” A certain amount of self-
reflection and thoughtfulness about the ongoing
process of an interview is beneficial, but Joseph’s
extensive self-questioning may distract him from
his client. As Joseph gains more experience and
confidence through graduate school and later as a
professional, his listening capacity may increase as
he is increasingly able to quiet such internal
questions.
BEING SELF-AWARE
This self-awareness should not
be confused with the excessive
self-consciousness exemplified
by Joseph in the above example,
which should be minimized.
The type of self-awareness that
should be maximized is the
interviewer’s ability to know how
he or she tends to affect others
interpersonally and how others
tend to relate to him or her.
 To illustrate this point, imagine yourself as a new client in a
clinical psychologist’s waiting room for the first time. When
the psychologist comes out to greet you, he
looks and speaks exactly like Albert Einstein. Would his
appearance and demeanor influence the way you responded
to him during the interview? What if the
psychologist resembled Kim Kardashian? Or LeBron James?
Every interviewer has a distinct combination of idiosyncratic
qualities—looks, voice, mannerisms, body language, accents,
and so on—that may evoke certain responses from clients.
Skilled interviewers are cognizant of their unique traits,
including their cultural assumptions as well as more superficial
characteristics, and consider their
effect on the interview process.
DEVELOPING POSITIVE
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
In addition to quieting themselves and knowing
themselves, good interviewers appreciate the
importance of developing positive working
relationships with clients.
In many clinical settings, an interview client is
likely to become a psychotherapy client, so a
good start to the working relationship benefits
both parties.
 There is no formula for developing positive working
relationships during an interview; however,
attentive listening, appropriate empathy, genuine respect, and
cultural sensitivity play significant roles. Positive working
relationships are always a function of the interviewer’s
attitude as well as the interviewer’s actions.