Mp566 Interviewing Skills - Orientation Examination - a Person-Centered Theoretical Perspective

Orientation Examination:

A Person-Centered Theoretical Perspective

Alawna Burrell

MP566 Interviewing Skills

March 13, 2011

As an interviewer, there are many responsibilities that rest upon you. Your job is to make your client feel welcome and open to share their issues and troubling experiences so that you may help to correct them. A task such as that is not always easy; this is why it is vital to find an approach that is fitting for you individually. There are a few different theoretical approaches posed that could help to make interviewing skills more effective.

Carl Rogers formulated person-centered therapy in which he stated: "If I can provide a certain type of relationship, the other person will discover within himself the capacity to use that relationship for growth, and change and personal development will occur" (R. Somers-Flanagan & J. Somers-Flanagan, 2008). Using this type of approach allows clients to talk freely and openly in an environment consisting of personal growth, change, and empathy. I feel that this theoretical orientation fits my personal approach.

I've always believed that when you're allowed freedom of emotional expression, it opens up the pathways to releasing negativity and broadens your scope for more positive thoughts and actions. Rogers' approach involved greater independence and integration of the individual rather than solving the problem, placing emphasis on emotional elements rather than intellectual elements, placing greater stress on the current situation as opposed to the person's past, and putting stress upon the therapeutic relationship itself as a growth experience (Tudor, 2010). These elements focus on the here and now of a situation, the chosen direction of the individual, and a rather emotionally driven catharsis which can be a very effective initial approach to employ as an interviewer.

In Hofmeister's article, an organismic perspective is taken as an extension of many of Roger's ideas. "Rogers (1951, p. 491) defined behavior as basically the goal-directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as experienced, in the field, as perceived" (Tudor, 2010, p. 59). The whole idea of the organism theory is based on the implication that our behavior is not separate from ourselves; that we are our behavior. I think this is a very important factor to take into account. Looking at things from a holistic perspective will help you as a clinician to direct your therapeutic methods towards the individual in their entirety instead of trying to separate the person from their context or environment. Being sure to consider all elements and environmental influences is vital to keep from omitting any factors that may be important to treatment.