Reducing emotional distance: a new method to teach interviewing skills

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy

Background:

• Existing literature suggests an overemphasis on interview content in medical and psychiatry training.
• There is a need for improved methods to teach the process and interpersonal aspects of interviewing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and evaluate a novel method for teaching interviewing skills to psychiatry residents.
• To shift the focus from interview content to the interpersonal process.

Main Methods:

• A seminar format was used where residents practiced reducing "emotional distance" with patients.
• Individual emotional styles of residents were considered.
• Peer and staff feedback was integral to the learning process.

Main Results:

• Residents demonstrated improvement in reducing emotional distance.
• Participants gained more affectual information from patients.
• Learned subtle aspects of process crucial for effective interviewing and psychotherapy.

Conclusions:

• The described method effectively enhances residents' interviewing skills by focusing on interpersonal dynamics.
• This approach leads to better patient engagement and information gathering.
• The findings support a process-oriented approach to teaching clinical interviewing.