Introduction to Clinical Psychology Bridging Science and Practice

In this chapter, we describe a variety of interview and observation techniques. We begin with interviews, categorized first by their goals and then by their structure. We also address stages of the interview process and what research has revealed about the reliability and validity of differing types of interviews. We treat clinical observations in much the same manner, discussing their goals and types as well as research on their strengths and limitations. Throughout, we discuss how various factors—particularly interview and observation structure, client diversity, and clinicians’ biases—can affect the results of interviews and observations.