Skills for assessments

Psychologists need to master different skills to conduct multi-method assessments. Having skills for interviews, conducting observations and providing counselling sessions are important.

Skills for Interviews

Having good interview skills allows you to be more productive in an interview. You can adopt these skills to build good rapport with their clients. Moreover, with good interview skills, your clients can feel more at ease during the interview, and you can have better understanding towards their feelings and problems if they feel more comfortable to express themselves.

Choosing the interview format

The format of the interview should be decided according to the objectives of the interview.

Structured interview: The questions are predetermined in both topic and order. One example is the interviews schedule. There is a standardized format, and the same questions are asked to each client in the same order.
Semi-structured interview: Some of the questions are predetermined, but other unplanned questions can be asked.
Non-structured interview: There is no predetermined questions or structure. the interviewer asks open-ended questions based on a specific goal, and will try to let the interview flow like a natural conversation.

Opening

It is important for you to build rapport between you and the client. You may do so by:

checking if the client feels comfortable with the environment
telling the client about the procedures so that you can establish the goal of the interview.
being non-judgmental and showing empathy

During the interview

It is the heart of the process of getting essential information. The following skills may help you the have a smooth and meaningful interview session.

Start with some easy questions, such as something factual.
Listen actively by nodding, keeping eye contact and using minimal encouragers
Make use of different questioning techniques, such as asking open-ended, close-ended questions, probing questions according to the situation
Avoid asking leading questions.
Make use of reflecting, paraphrasing, clarifying and summarising skills.

Closing of the interview

At the end of the session, you should:

Wind down gradually, rather than ending abruptly.
Recap the main points of the interviews
Check if the client has any further questions.
Instill hope if necessary.

(Egan, 2013)

Skills for Observations

Systemic observation allows us to observe students in a natural or specially designed setting. During observation, we need to make use of different skills and method to record the target behaviours objectively. The records can be converted into quantitative information.

The data collected can achieve the following purposes:

verify the information collected from parents and teachers
compare behaviours in different settings
get a more finely differentiated picture of the student's reaction
conduct functional behavioural assessment
provide information about young children, students with developmental disabilities, or uncooperative students
Anchor psychological concepts at behavioural level

Observational Coding Systems

We need coding systems to help us make records accurately and objectively. Any observable behaviours can be coded, but it is important to get back to the presenting problem and decide the target behaviours. For students, three main types of behaviours can be observed.

Classroom behaviour

Classroom behaviours can be categorized according to different behavioural domains.

Domains	Behaviours
Autism	Asking for help, symbolic play, taking turns, reciprocal play, telling a sequential story
Depression	Talking, playing alone, negativism, frowning, complaining, whining
Social Competence	Solitary play, cooperative play, smiling, compliments, rule making, turn taking
Conduct Problems	Noncompliance, destructiveness, aggressive play, aggression, arguing
ADHD	Off task, fidgeting, inappropriate talking, gazing around, out of seat, loud talking

Play behaviour

For children's play, observations can be done in two dimensions. Their interaction with others can be observed in different nature of activities.

Interaction with others:

Solitary play
Parallel play
Group play

Nature of activity

Functional play
Construction play
Dramatic play
Games-with-rules play

Teacher's behaviour

Teachers' behaviours of giving instructions, such as prompting, giving approval or disapproval in different situations can be observed.

Recording

Narrative Recording/ Running Record

Describe events without using quantitative recording procedures. Observer describes the events and verbalizations of the target student/ teacher during the events as precisely as possible,

Create an in-depth picture of the behaviour of the target
Preserve the sequence in which the behaviours were observed in the written description.

Pro

Very detailed
Sequence of behaviour is kept

Cons

Time consuming
Subjective
Lack focus
No quantitative data

Interval Recording

Observer focuses on selected aspects of behaviour as they occur within specified intervals.

Observations are divided into brief segments (e.g. 30 seconds). Observer needs to mark down if the behaviours are observed during the interval.

There are different types of interval recording:

Partial-interval time sampling: Mark down the target behaviours observed within the specific time interval. Once the length of an observation session is identified, the time is broken down into smaller intervals that are all equal in length.
Whole-interval time sampling: Observe the behaviour for the whole interval
Momentary time sampling: Record at the end of the interval, good for high-rate behaviour
Point time sampling: Mark the behaviour at a preset point of time, good for observing two students in the same class.

Event Recording

Record each instance of a specific behaviour or event as it occurs. The unit of measurement is the target behaviours instead of time interval. It is good for discrete responses (e.g. making a social response).

The following dimensions are recorded:

Frequency count
Duration
Intensity
Latency

Pro

Can record what exactly happened
Objective

Rating Recording

A rating scale or checklist is used for behaviour rating at the end of the observation period. The observation is more subjective.

It is used for observing some quality in a child's behaviour that may not be accessible with objective coding system.

Pro

Not time consuming
Can complement the missed information from other observation
Can observe different aspects of behaviours

Cons

Direct attention needed
Difficult to record continuous behaviour
Cannot record ABC

Cons

Subjective

Pro

More objective
Less time consuming

Cons

May over-estimate the target behaviour

Skills for counselling

SOLER is a set of counselling skills used in counselling. This set of skills allow you to listen actively and show empathy to your client so that they can feel respected and comfortable throughout the session. You can also adopt SOLER in interview sessions.

Sitting squarely

Sit and face the client at an angle to him/her, so that you can look at him/her directly, and show that you are listening to and paying attention to him/her.

Open gestures

Avoid crossing your arms as this can make you appear anxious or defensive.

Leaning forward

You can show that you are interested in what the client is talking about. He/she can also lower his/her voice if personal issues are being shared.

Eye contact

Maintaining good, positive eye contact help you show that you are paying attention and feel interested in the conversation. However, do not stare at the client as this can make him/her feel uncomfortable.

Relaxed body language

This shows the client that you are not in a rush to end the session, but are letting him/her talk at his/her own pace. While time management is important, do not look at your watch all the time.

(Egan, 2013)

Reference

Egan, G. (2013). The skilled helper: A problem-management and opportunity-development approach to helping. Cengage Learning.