Blog 20: Fourth Interview Questions

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

I plan on interviewing one of my mentor's partners. They all have a lot of experience in the therapeutic field, as well as working with a variety of clients.

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

1. What is one major problem you find among teens?
2. What are the most common cases you receive when working with teens?
3. Do you find working with adolescents is easier or harder? Why?
4. What are some important factors one must consider when thinking about going into this field (Mainly when working with adolescents)?
5. What have you found works best for teens?
6. What have you found that may not work as great?
7. What do you feel struggling teens may need? (ex. Attention, distractions, activities, etc.)
8. What is an approach one must take?
9. Have you ever had a client that didn't really show treatment progress? How did that make you feel?
10. What sort of recommendations do you usually make to the teens?
11. Have you ever worked with a stubborn teen? How do you handle that sort of situation?
12. How important is parent involvement to you? Why?
13. What is your view on group therapy? Do you feel like it's a huge help? Why or why not?
14. As a therapist, do you try seeing things from your client's perspective? Do you feel it helps with the process?
15. How do you feel therapy helps a client? What are some things that go on during sessions that leads to the client getting better?
16. When the teen feels like giving up on themselves, how do you approach that? What is some motivation?
17. How are you able to help your client recognize their issues when they aren't quite sure about certain situations? (ex. They keep getting this feeling of guilt, but they don't know why)
18. How are you able to control whether or not the teen is doing things outside therapy that you've recommended they do when you aren't around?
19. What sort of relationship do you believe should be built with the client?
20. What is the process that is taken with the clients?

Blog 19: Third Answer

My EQ is, "How can a psychologist ensure a struggling adolescent receives the best possible treatment?"

A psychologist can ensure an adolescent receives the best possible treatment by putting themselves in their client's shoes.

1. The psychologist will be able to see the client's perspective and understand better why they may be feeling or acting the way they are. This helps with understanding the client's needs and helps with the treatment process.
2. Telling your client things like, "at least it isn't this" doesn't help. In fact, it may make them feel worse. The psychologist would want their client to feel like they have someone who listens rather then throwing other things at them.
3. The psychologist will have a sharing bond with their client. Seeing things through the client's eyes, will help the psychologist and the client share what is going on, making the client comfortable.

My sources are http://hdo.utexas.edu/working-successfully-with-your-client-2/ and the book "Client Issues in Counseling and Psychotherapy".

Through the many treatments a struggling adolescent can receive, the psychologist putting themselves in their clients shoes is one of the many helpful ones. The psychologist would want to make their client comfortable and be able to understand more. If things are seen through the client's eyes, it'll be easier to see where they may be struggling.