the psychological interview

The psychological interview is used in all areas of psychology. In particular, in clinical psychology and organizational psychology – where we find the psychological interview for job candidates.

In this text, you will learn more about what a psychological interview is and the main definitions. Also read about the interview in psychoanalysis.

The interview is defined by Bleger (1991) as an instrument of investigation, one of the procedures that the professional, in this case, the psychologist, has in his work in order to achieve objectives such as the investigation of a problem or the elaboration of a diagnosis.

Basically, interviews can be of two types: open or closed, with variations occurring in degree (more or less open or closed).

In closed or structured interviews, as they are also known, the questions are previously formulated and ordered and the interviewer cannot change this arrangement.

In the open interview (non-directed or non-structured) the interviewee has ample freedom to discuss a subject, and the interviewer, freedom to formulate and/or change the questions according to the flow of the interview, as well as to make interventions ( which is not possible in closed interviews).

The interview, in general, should not be confused with an anamnesis. The anamnesis is just a compilation of data from the subject’s history, and the interview goes further, configuring a field of investigation of a problem and its surroundings.

In the interview, the problem presented is outlined by variables that depend on the interviewee, so a single interview is not enough to exhaust a subject: many factors are at play in the interview situation, for example anxiety and the time factor, making follow-up is necessary. Even so, the objective is not to exhaust a subject, but to expand it to the maximum.

In addition, an interview is carried out based on the assumption that the interviewee/patient has a historical organization of his life and a representative scheme of what he is experiencing.

In the initial interviews, the patient should be free to speak freely about his problems, starting from the point he prefers and including the points he wants (Ocampo, 1981). Although the interview is basically based on the subject’s speech, there are some things that he is not capable of transmitting in the form of knowledge, but lets them emerge in other ways, through lapses, non-verbal behaviors, contradictions in the speech .

The interviewer should intervene as little as possible. According to Ocampo (1981), this should only occur when the subject does not know how to start or continue a subject, when there is a stoppage of speech due to increased anxiety, or to ask the subject to talk more about the subject. These interventions must be carried out as widely as possible.

Non-directive approach theorists were the first to systematize what happens in an interview. For Mucchieli (1978), the interview is a form of induction, whose objective is to get the client to express his problem.

Benjamin (1978) analyzes the types of questions and their effects on the client. Miranda and Miranda (1986) observed that the interviewer is a fundamental element – ​​he needs to have personal qualities to establish an interpersonal relationship with the client. Rogers & Rosenberg (1977) say that the therapist is just a facilitator, that is, that the interview should always be centered on the client.

Balau (1980) says that an interview is a verbal interaction between two or more people. Thus, a study should be centered on the interview in order to highlight the variables that control the behavior of the interviewer and the interviewee.

Hermansson (1988) believed in the interference of postural inclinations. Because the “image” that the therapist passes on to his client is, above all, very important, since the client can feel influenced by this image.

Behavioral authors see the interview as an instrument for data collection to be used in the behavioral assessment. From a behavioral point of view, the interview consists of skills that can be learned.

In the social sciences, more specifically in research activities, the interview has been widely used as an instrument that enables the systematic collection of data.

In the clinical reality, the interview is involved in issues that go beyond the simple instrumentality of data collection, since this serves to be able to carry out an intervention of this nature and, for the diagnostic accuracy necessary for the smooth running of online psychological care. or face-to-face.

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