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Interviewing Strategies

  • Chapter
Diagnostic Interviewing

Abstract

Diagnostic interviewing is fundamental to the assessment of clients’ presenting problems and overall functioning (Friedman, 1989; Sarwer & Sayers, 1998). Despite an explosion of self-report instruments and questionnaires, interviewing “remains the most basic, most commonly used, and most powerful technique of clinical assessment” (Korchin, 1976, p. 192). Researchers and clinicians may employ direct observation methods, psychological tests, self-report questionnaires, and/or self-monitoring forms in an attempt to assess client issues, but it is the interview that continues to play an instrumental and prominent role in diagnostic evaluations (Rogers, 1995). Historically, clinicians have employed a flexible or unstructured approach to interviewing (Sher & Trull, 1996), relying on client presentation and clinical intuition to focus and guide the interview process. Although clinicians learned basic interviewing skills during graduate training and some informal guidelines on the type of information to collect in an interview, until recently there has been little standardization of interview formats (Friedman, 1989). However, within the past three decades, structured approaches have been developed that have systematized the interview process (Rogers, 2001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Professional Psychology, Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, 97116, USA

    Catherine Miller

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  1. Catherine Miller
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Professional Psychology, Pacific University, 97116, Forest Grove, Oregon, USA

    Michel Hersen

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Samuel M. Turner

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Miller, C. (2003). Interviewing Strategies. In: Hersen, M., Turner, S.M. (eds) Diagnostic Interviewing. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4963-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4963-2_3

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