HS1500 Helping Relationships

Homework Assignment for Module Five

Practice Interview Paper

For this assignment you will interview a volunteer for a minimum of 15-30 minutes. Your volunteer must be an adult aged 21 or older. They must give you their permission to participate in the interview and you must explain to them that you will be using the content of the interview in your paper for this class. You will indicate that you have obtained permission and informed them about the purpose in your paper.

Have your volunteer client think of a problem, concern or issue that they feel strongly about. It should be something that they feel strongly enough about that they can speak easily for 15-30 minutes. Please make sure it is not a serious problem or issue of a deeply personal nature. This should be something that you as a student are equipped to listen to and ask a few clarifying questions about.

Once your volunteer has fully described his or her problem, use the skills related to clarification, assessing motivation and readiness, establishing goals and taking action, and establishing goals to help your client identify a plan. You may not get to all of these in the course of your single interview, but try to get to as many as is reasonably possible. (Remember, this is a client-driven process and you are to facilitate, not tell the client what to do or offer advice – even if they directly ask you to do so.)

You will be recording (in writing) information regarding your interview, your reaction and your volunteer’s reaction to the process. You will provide some basic demographic data but no identifying information (i.e. name, address, and so on) should be used in your paper.

Use the checklist provided on Blackboard. You will submit the completed checklist along with your summary paper. You are welcome to handwrite information on this form and scan a copy but you are also welcome to type into the form and attach a copy of the completed Word document.

Your paper and the checklist form must both be uploaded to Blackboard by the due date listed on your course schedule.

Complete your paper using the following outline:

Outline for Paper

· Brief description of client:

Include basic information about the client including initials, gender, approximate age, and any other information they share.

Include a statement that you informed your volunteer that this was for a class assignment and that you obtained permission from them to write about your interview with them.

· Brief summary of the client’s problem or issue:

In a few sentences or a brief paragraph, describe what the client talked about.

· Assessment of your performance:

Referring to the checklist you completed, describe what things you did well. Describe what you things you did not do so well.

· Subjective Experience – Personal Reaction:

Describe what this activity was like for you. Was it fun? Difficult? Scary? Be sure to include detail and explanation, not just a single word.

Describe what this activity was like for your volunteer. Was it fun? Difficult? Scary? Be sure to include detail and explanation, not just a single word.

· Assessment of your progress/improvement in interviewing:

You have now completed three interviews for this course. Describe how your interviewing skills have improved over the course. Provide at least three specific examples. Describe what areas you feel you need to continue to improve. Provide at least three specific examples.

· Plan for on-going practice and improvement:

Using the lists you provided in the above sections, discuss what you plan to do to continue to build upon your existing strengths in interviewing. Discuss what you plan to do to continue to work on the areas of improvement. Provide at least three specific activities/examples.

Specifics:

Your paper should follow basic APA formatting, including 12 point font, 1 inch margins, and double-spacing. A complete paper that responds fully to all sections will most likely be between 2 -3 pages in length.