Motivational Interview - Case Study Example

Intake Interview Simulation and Report Name Course Institution Date Intake Interview Simulation and Report Interview Script Community Correction Officer: Welcome Jeffries Wilbur Alexander, I am glad you have managed to show up on time for this interview. Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Okay thank you Community Correction Officer: I must say, if I were in your position, I might not have managed to be this punctual owing to such a big amount of stress. So tell me, how is your life at the moment? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: My life has been very difficult since Friday 13th January 2017 when I was arrested by police and taken to Morley Police Station for interview with police. Community Correction Officer: “My life has been very difficult”. What do you imply by this statement Wilbur? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: I mean the court process has been so stressful. Community Correction Officer: Okay…how did all this started? I mean, why were you arrested and how has the interrogation and whole court process been? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Are you trying to judge me? I have told you everything has been stressful, that is all! Community Correction Officer: Take it easy Wilbur. I am here to help you; I only want to get first hand information from you so that I can proceed to find the best way possible to help you. Keep in mind, however, that you are not under any pressure to open up. At the same time, your opening up can be very beneficial to you. Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Okay…I believe you will help me as you have said. I was born18th September 1990, at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Subiaco, Western Australia. Currently, I reside at 20 Fitzgerald Road, Morley with my wife whom we have been together for about 2 years. We are expecting our first child due in August this year. I have an older brother, Xavier, who is now 28 years old and lives with his wife. Xavier was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few years ago and his condition is currently managed with very expensive medication. I am the one paying for his medication because he and his wife are unemployed and therefore do have a stable source of income. My mother was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about 10 years ago. After a worsening of her symptoms, she is wheelchair bound and lives in a residential care facility. Before being transferred to the residential care facility, I was the one paying for her medication fee. Her medication together with that of my brother has been very expensive; we have spent nearly all our financial resources seeking for their treatment. We have been left with almost nothing and that is why I started doing odd things in order to get additional funds to take care of my depedants….(he cries). Community Correction Officer: Take it easy. Taking care of your ailing mother and brother single-handedly is actually not easy, I feel for you Wilbur. You have mentioned that you started doing odd things in order to get additional funds to take care of your depandants. What are these odd things Wilbur? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: I started acquiring drugs and selling them for profit. That is it! Community Correction Officer: Okay, you began drugs trade as a way of getting extra income. So how did you get involved with drug selling? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: It was my own idea of making money. I knew an individual who was in this business. I knew where to get the drugs. It was actually like hands on, so I knew how to trade. So all I had to do was to find some cash to acquire the drug stock. Community Correction Officer: I can see you were very conversant with this kind of trade even before you get involved in it. Did you know the trade is illegal? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: mmhh….yes Community Correction Officer: Then why did you decide to do an illegal business yet there are many other income-generating activities? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: You know what…..the money was so good that it was hard to let pass by you. Some days I could earn more than my 3-month salary in just a day. Community Correction Officer: Okay, you admit that you are a drug dealer as claimed by the court. Is that so? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: No I don’t think I am a drug dealer; I am an electrician…that is my only job. I only sold small quantities just to get little money to take care of my dependants. I do not think dealing with little amount of drugs is enough to call someone a drug dealer. That is unfair. Community Correction Officer: Okay Wilbur….according to the law, the charges for drug possession is the same regardless of the amount an individual is found in possession. Anyway, let us leave that part for next time. How long did you carry out this business of drugs? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: mmh…for almost one year. Community Correction Officer: Great, did you use to take drugs also or you only used to buy and sell? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: I only buy and sell them Community Correction Officer: Have you ever used methylamphetamine? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Yes but rarely Community Correction Officer: Okay what about ecstasy (MDMA)? Have you used it before? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Yes Community Correction Officer: After being released on bail a few months ago, did you continue using methylamphetamine and ecstasy (MDMA)? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: No I have never used these drugs since I was released. Community Correction Officer: So how has your life been generally? Do you feel some change in health, social life, etc? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Some time I feel like using ecstasy (MDMA), but this feeling is slowly diminishing. I thank God Community Correction Officer: That is great Wilbur! You said there is good money in drug trade? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Yes good money indeed. Community Correction Officer: Okay…so if everything goes well and you get an opportunity to continue with the trade, will you start trading drugs again? Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Nooo! I cannot start that business again, I better be satisfied with my current salary. Community Correction Officer: Okay thank you for your time Jeffries Wilbur Alexander, that is all for this session. Pass my greetings to your son James and his siblings. See you next time. Jeffries Wilbur Alexander: Thank you very much. Reflection of the Interview Generally, I think this motivational interview was carried out in an appropriate manner and nearly all the techniques employed in a typical motivational interview were demonstrated. Apparently, there is extensive use of various techniques meant to develop rapport, demonstrate principles of motivational interview, and to guide the interviewing process toward compelling the interviewee change talk and dedication for change. Change talk entails talks or non-verbal communications that shows the interviewee may be thinking about the chances for change (Miller & Rollnick, 2012). One of the skillful approaches that are evident in this motivational interview is the building of rapport. Evidently, the initial part of this interview was grounded in a respectful stance with a focus on creating and building rapport, which, according to Miller and Rollnick (2012), is the first step of identifying, analyzing, and resolving the ambivalence about changing behavior. This first part of the interview was deliberately designed to evoke certain kinds of statements from the client. Another motivational interviewing skill demonstrated in this interview is expression of empathy. During the interview, I occasionally communicated acceptance to the client through reflective and skilful listening. This approach was meant to help my client explore and resolve his confusion regarding the impending changes without fear of shame or embarrassment. Another technique evident in this interview is the use of open-ended questions. I asked the client a number of open-ended questions during the interview. This was meant to build a good relationship with the client by inviting him to give more than simple single-word answers. In other words, open-ended questions allowed my client to express his feelings freely without being limited. Affirmation is another skillful interviewing technique that was used in this interview. In many instances during the course of this interview, I affirmed my client by making statements that support and focus on his strengths, positive actions, as well as efforts to change. This technique helps build hope and confidence for the client, reinforcing his efficacy. On the other hand, one of the interviewing skills that require improvements, as I did not perform well in this particular area, is the reflective listening. After reviewing the script, it is clear that I did not listen to my client carefully thus making him to feel that I was not understanding the issues from his perspective. According to Miller and Rollnick (2012), reflective listening is very important in motivational interview because it is a core intervention toward guiding the client toward positive change, which is the key objective of motivational interview. In essence, the interview was carried out appropriately but here are a few recommendations of the specific skills that I need to develop further: To improve on reflective listening skill, I have to set aside my pre-conceived feelings regarding what the client wants and instead concentrate on understanding what the client is trying to put across. I need to make use of an approach that entails making a hypothesis about what the client wants to pass across and then test that hypothesis by making a reflective statement. I also need to incorporate more empathy skills in the interview by putting myself in the client’s situation and accurately convey an understanding of his emotional experience without making judgment about it. My summarizing skills also need to be developed further. This involves reflecting back to the client the essence of what I have heard over some period of time during the interview. Reference Miller, W. R., Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change. New York: Guilford Press. Read More