Depending on the clinical setting information varies, for example, in a mental health agency you would not ask many questions about academics as opposed to a school setting. Furthermore, for clients who have been mandated for counselor the type of information gathered from these clients vary from a client who has willing attended therapy.
When conducting an initial interview for a school setting, relevant information would include the academic history, support provided at home, medical conditions, and drug or alcohol usage among students and family members. In a community mental health agency and drug abuse treatment facility, asking about medical history, drug and alcohol usage, previous treatment, and family history would be relevant. Lastly, in a college counseling center the counselor can ask information about the student’s academics, living arrangement (whether they are in a dorm room…show more content… Most of the questions are prepared beforehand and lack friendly conversation. A structured interview would be appropriate at the beginning of a session to obtain as much information about the client. The questions are prepared so the therapist can get to know the client and begin the helping process. The disadvantages of structured interviews are that it may be difficult to build rapport with the client, or the client may feel overwhelmed by the amount of questions and lack of conversation in between questions.
An unstructured interview is informal and allows the client and therapist to build rapport. The questions are not prepared beforehand and are asked depending on the client’s needs. An unstructured interview may appear to the client as more personal because it allows for conversation. The disadvantage of unstructured interviews is that the counselor must be attentive and competent enough to come up with appropriate and relevant questions that will assess the