Marriage and Family Therapy Interview Technique
Marriage and family therapists have an added challenge of gathering information from not just one but multiple clients at once. This can be difficult when time constraints, small children or inexpressive clients are in the picture. However, certain interviewing techniques can help bring to light the roots of a family's problems. Time-extended family interviews, puppet interviews, and sculpting techniques can all help bring resolutions during marriage and family therapy.
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Time-Extended Family Interview
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When some families face time constraints, you can apply the time-extended family therapy interview technique. This technique typically abandons the one-hour-per-week session schedule in favor of a concentrated therapy session that can last from three to seven hours. This is useful for families that live in geographically challenging areas yet still wish to heal family wounds. You can also use it for families who have to adjust to certain situations such as the loss of a loved one. Before engaging in a time-extended family interview, conduct smaller more traditional sessions to discover family needs and confirm whether such an interview is necessary. For example, such interviews can become very emotional for lengthy periods of time; clients who have trouble handling their emotions may need to build up their skills first.
Puppets
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The puppet interview technique allows family members, especially children, to express otherwise difficult feelings and present their own impressions of family roles and situations. The therapist asks all family members to select a puppet from a box. He observes the choices and any conflicts that arise from those choices, and asks each member to explain the appeal of her choice. He might ask the child to create a story about her family using the puppets and assigning roles. The family performs the play. The therapist then interviews the puppets about various aspects of the play and their characters. He also interviews the child about why she chose the story and the roles for each family member.
Sculpting
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Virginia Satir was a therapist who took a humanistic approach to therapy. She preferred her clients to express their feelings and thoughts not just with words but with actions. One interview technique she used was sculpting, where clients placed family members in physical positions relative to their thoughts. This technique was especially useful for family members who were reluctant to discuss their feelings directly or had problems expressing in words. For example, a teenage client may have anger toward his parents for consistently arguing in front of him. He may be asked by the therapist to position the parents in a way that describes what they look like when they argue. This could offer insight to the parents as to what their child may be feeling during their confrontations.
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