Question

Imagine you are tasked with conducting a counseling intake interview with a 19 year old college student who is feeling sad, unmotivated, and worried about his grades. It is the student’s first semester at school, and he is finding that he has gone from being an A student in high school to a B- student in college. He has also moved 500 miles away from his hometown to attend school.

a number of counseling approaches (cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and behavioral), that can be used to guide and understand an interview.

Which approach would you use to guide this intake interview? Explain why you think this approach is a good choice for this particular interview also, develop at least 5 questions for your interview and explain how the questions fit with the approach you chose.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) It would be best to choose the Psychodynamic approach. It is essential to know about the student’s past, when exactly did he begin having poor scores and why. If he isn’t consciously scoring poorly, it would be helpful to explore his subconscious mind through a qualitative interview. This would not only help him vent but, also help him explore areas of his mind that he might have been ignoring.

Also, the reason for the poor grades might be a reason that is unknown to him as well. Perhaps the reason for his dejection could be post-partum depression or other such factors. It is pivotal that the student knows more about the problem so he can work towards the solution effectively.

Psychoanalytic – These questions will be based on determining the formidability of the superego above the id and ego.

1. Have you interacted with family and friends outside through calls, letters etc.?

It is essential to know if he is regularly keeping in touch with the familiar elements of his life and that the nature of these calls are positive and affectionate.

1. Are you looking forward to reuniting with any loved ones and did you bid them farewell on good terms?

The reason for this question is to check if he answers a “yes” or “no” with suddenness or urgency. Basically, his expressions and tone would have to be assessed to find out if the cause of his problems truly lies in his longing for home.

1. Have you in the past shared any of your resources, food or personal materials with others who might have run out of their personal items?

This question would help determine if he has any valuable relationships or acquaintances that he feels are worthy of his generosity. This would mean that he is slowly forming healthy relationships that might help him feel better.

1. Have you been emotional about the time spent in at university and without loved ones?

Even though this is evident, it is essential to have him explain how he feels in order to get clues about what he is actually going through. Since it is not “cool” behaviour to miss home over the freedom of university life, the student might have a hard time expressing this to his peers. However, it is a more common emotion that most students know and the student needs to know that it is common and normal to feel that way.

1. Has any behaviour in the university caused animosity between you and another person?

Other than normal suspicions about missing home, it is essential to know if there are any other factors such as bullying or poor relationships that are keeping the student from excelling. The purpose of this question would be to rule out extraneous variables.