Intake interviews are the most common type of interview in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

. They occur when a client first comes to seek help from a

clinician A clinician is a health care professional typically employed at a skilled nursing facility or clinic. Clinicians work directly with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher. A clinician may diagnose, treat, and otherwise care for pat ...

. The intake interview is important in

because it is the first interaction that occurs between the client and the clinician. The clinician may explain to the client what to expect during the interview, including the time duration. The purpose of the intake interview often includes establishing and diagnosing any problems the client may have. Usually, the clinician diagnoses the patient using criteria from the first two DSM axes. Some intake interviews include a

mental status examination The mental status examination (MSE) is an important part of the clinical assessment process in neurological and psychiatric practice. It is a structured way of observing and describing a patient's psychological functioning at a given point in ...

During the intake interview, the clinician may determine a treatment plan. In some cases, particular clinician may feel that he or she lacks the expertise to best help the client. It is during the intake interview that the clinician should refer the client to another source. During the intake interview, both parties form opinions about one another that can be either positive or negative. The client begins to perceive the characteristics of the

therapist Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indi ...

during this intake interview and the clinical relationship between the two starts to form here. A client’s perception of a clinician during an intake interview can either hinder or encourage them to get further treatment. The more clients perceive positive qualities in their therapists, the more likely they are to attend sessions in the future This decision whether or not to continue treatment is usually made after the intake interview takes place. Studies have found that almost all patients make a decision about whether to return or not after the intake interview. Approximately fifty percent of

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

patients drop out of treatment and most of these patients do so after they have an intake interview. Therefore, it is important that during intake interviews that the clinician expresses to his or her clients that they have a correct understanding of the client and his or her needs and emotions. This helps the client feel secure, and thus makes it more likely that the client will continue to seek treatment. Most clinicians conduct their own intake interviews. However, bigger organizations with a larger staff pools may have

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

s or other employees who conduct these interviews. Interviewers have varying approaches when it comes to conducting intake interviews with clients. The way that the clinician conducts the intake interview sets the tone for the continued course of treatment.

Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

style is important during these interviews. Some patients prefer to be asked specific questions by the interviewer, whereas some patients prefer to open-endedly talk about their feelings. In many cases, the interviewer can get a sense of the patients’ preference.Nakash, Ora, Dargouth, Sarah, Oddo, Vanessa, Gao, Shan, Alegría, Margarita. (2009). Communication: Observational Study: Patient initiation of information: Exploring its role during the mental health intake visit. Patient Education And Counseling, 75220-226. It is important that the client build rapport during the interview. It is often beneficial to both the client and the patient to have a balance in which the clinician asks questions and the patient also volunteers certain information. This allows the interview to have somewhat of a conversational flow and become more personal.

References

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