Paper 2

Interviews are used frequently in a variety of different professions. In order to gain information about clients and the problems they are dealing with, communication is necessary. In social work, interviews are a vital aspect to the planned change process. By sitting down and talking with clients, the social worker can learn key facts that otherwise wouldn’t be readily available in the client’s file. The purpose of interviews is to exchange information with the hopes of solving the client’s problem and promoting growth. Interviews also are useful in planning strategies or actions aimed at improving the quality of life for the client after their involvement with the social worker. So while there may be other ways for social workers to gather information, interviews are the easiest and most effective way to engage with their clients. Being able to self-reflect is a very crucial skill to have as a social worker. By being aware of one’s own thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs, the ability to help clients and empathize with them will increase. A process recording is one way for a social worker to be self-reflective. For me, it really helped me to watch and hear myself on video and pinpoint the places I need to improve on. By continuously self-reflecting, it will help me, as well as any social worker, advance my ability to work with clients. The interview process and self-reflection are two aspects of social work that are essential to the work they do. Alton is having problems with his landlord, Rena, and is afraid he is going to get evicted because of it. He came to the Community Mental Health Clinic because he wanted Rena to change her behavior and was interested in filing a human rights complaint against her. After the interv...

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...more relaxed around me. I was comfortable using clarification throughout the interview and it helped me better understand what Alton was saying. So I achieved my purpose in using it because it cleared up any confusion I had over some of Alton’s statements. When I was trying to figure out if Alton would be uncomfortable living outside of his neighborhood I asked, “So you would want to find an apartment in this neighborhood?” Providing information was a technique I could of done better with, especially in regards to providing Alton information about Kennebec Behavioral Health. So although I used this technique during my interview, I do not think I achieved my purpose in providing Alton with the information that he needed. A couple examples from the interview are, “I made a phone call since our last session,” and, “I do have resources and people to contact for housing.”