Workgroup 5: Interview

Interview

During a first interview the psychologist talks to the patient about their chronic disorders or their medical somatic complaints. It is an interview to orientate what you can mean to the patient and their complaints, to get an overview of their complaints and to develop a treatment plan. The role of the psychologist is to take away any uncertainties and insecurities by giving information, making the patient trust the psychologist and by supporting the patient, and it is important to gain as much relevant information as the psychologist can.

An intake form can be seen as a memory backup.

A quick overview of the interview:

1. Reception and introduction
2. Anamnesis
   
   1. Open style: complaints
   2. Taking initiative: other important aspects in life, like background and current functioning
   3. Asking questions which have remained unanswered so far
3. Ending

Reception and introduction

During this part it is important to gain the patient’s trust. This can be done by small talk, introducing who you are and what you do, give a brief explanation of what will be done today and telling the patient what you already know and check if that information is correct.

Anamnesis

During the anamnesis you as a psychologist want to know more about the patient and their background. You ask questions about when their symptoms started to develop, how they developed, how often they occur and you ask about other somatic complaints. You also ask how the patient feels about the complaints and how they influence their daily lives, and how they deal with their symptoms. Apart from that, you also want to know whether the patient lives alone, has a partner, if they have experienced any big life events, if they have received any psychiatric service in their past and so on.

Ending

During the final part of the interview you give a brief summary of what you have talked about with the patient. You also ask if they have any expectations and how they have experienced the interview. Besides, you tell them what is going to happen next and you give the patient the opportunity to ask you any questions.

During the interview

During the interview you must ask as many as you can about the illness and how it correlates with the patient and their life. Encourage them to speak and ask both open and closed questions. Reflect their feelings, summarise, make their comments clear and repeat. Also it is important to create structure in the interview.

Make sure not to use difficult words, since the patient might not understand those. Watch out with using words like ‘poor’, ‘your problem’ and ‘patient’.