Monique Janssens Interview Reflection After reviewing the recording of the interview I completed, I feel that I did a good

job covering almost all required areas. The opening of the interview was pretty good as I welcomed and thanked Lynn, spent a lot of time explaining the consent form and confidentiality, checked for questions, and then described the structure of the interview. I feel that the interview unfolded in an organized manner by staying within the age range being discussed while providing for some flexibility in order of topics; however, efficiency may not have been as strong. The interview felt too long and some areas, such as family information, did not need to be discussed in such detail. I originally went into this interview trying to pretend I knew nothing of the family, but later realized that Sattler and Hoge (2006) advise that interviewers know as much about the family as possible before the interview. Since I already knew who was living in the home and their current employers, I probably could have focused on the medical and educational histories. Similarly to the interview opening I felt the session summary, where I returned to what is currently happening in Jordans life and compared the information elicited at the end of the interview to that at the beginning (different comfort levels), went well. However, if I did this interview again I would summarize the overarching themes from the interview and check for interviewee agreement. Additionally, I feel that thanking Lynn again for her participation and providing a copy of the consent form were good ways to end the interview. Observation of behaviors during the interview was difficult for me because Lynn maintained similar body language throughout the interview: leaning towards me with her lower arms resting on the table (usually her hands were clasped together) and occasionally using her hands to emphasize a point. This body language changed little even when she was uncomfortable with the question about the age at which she believes Jordan started drinking. My body language remained fairly consistent throughout the interview as well; however, I may have used my hands too much when talking (they may have been distracting). The one time I sensed discomfort from Lynn was when asking about the age at which Jordan started drinking; where her statements and the length of the pause before answering indicated that she did not want to share the information. However, upon reassuring Lynn of confidentiality she did choose to answer the question. This was the only part of the interview where I felt challenged as interviewer (although there were other times where I felt I was being seen as niece over interviewer, such as when she asked when my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimers). I am happy with the way I dealt with this situation, as I was able to obtain the information. One interviewing technique that I need to work on is making more eye contact and looking at the protocol I created less (taking fewer notes and greater familiarity with the location of questions on the protocol are good first steps). Another area for improvement would be to avoid compound question and talk less when asking the question. I tend to ask open ended questions and then give several examples of where the question can be taken, but I think I would get more interesting information if I asked the question and listened to how the interviewee interpreted it, what was answered, and then asked specific follow up questions. Finally, the area that needs the most work is on neutral responses to interviewee comments. Several times I caught myself saying, that sounds pretty normal or thats a good thing. I know I am doing this to try to establish rapport and make Lynn feel comfortable rather than judged, but I need to find new ways to do this without placing my values on her responses.

Finally I feel that I did elicit all relevant information but may have also received some irrelevant information. For example, I covered many areas of Jordans life in depth during the interview but Lynn also had a tendency to go off on some tangents, such as the one about Alzheimers. The suggestions I made about efficiency would help the interview be completed more quickly while obtaining the same information. If I were to change anything in this interview I probably would have gone more in depth about dealing with his best friends death and looked less at Jordans early life; since that information is probably not as relevant in an assessment of a 19 year old. Overall, I feel that the interview went fairly well as we stayed on track, followed my general guideline, discussed relevant information without missing any important areas, and established rapport. After completing this interview I know that I need to improve my neutral statements in response to answers, frequency of eye contact, stop myself from providing examples of ways to answer questions, and have a better knowledge of the location of items on my protocol. References Sattler, J. M. & Hoge, R. D. (2006). Assessment of children: Behavioural, social, and clinical foundations (5th edition). La Mesa, CA: Jeroms M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc.