The Interviewing Team: An Exercise for Teaching Assessment and Conceptualization Skills

Abstract

The Interviewing Team is an exercise for teaching students how to conduct assessment interviews and conceptualize client problems. The team consists of up to 10 students who take turns interviewing the instructor who role-plays a client. Each student is responsible for obtaining one type of assessment information (e.g., affective, somatic, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms). After each role-play segment, the instructor gives the student feedback and asks the team questions designed to develop hypotheses about the nature and etiology of the “client's” problems. The advantages of this approach to teaching conceptualization skills are discussed.