Impact on professional carers of structured interviews with families

This article describes a Swedish study exploring the impact of a structured assessment process on both family and professional carers. A total of 20 professional carers conducted in-depth assessments with 245 family carers and were later interviewed about their experiences. The interviews indicated that the assessment process had provided valuable new insights and had challenged many existing preconceptions. They also afforded carers the opportunity to explore difficult emotional issues, suggesting the need to develop services to help carers deal with their feelings.