Interventive interviewing: Part I. Strategizing as a fourth guideline for the therapist

Area of Science:

• Psychotherapy
• Clinical Psychology
• Family Therapy

Background:

• Clinical interviews offer significant therapeutic potential often unrecognized by therapists.
• Therapeutic opportunities within interviews can be enhanced through structured guidelines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elaborate on four essential interviewing guidelines for therapists.
• To clarify and operationalize the concepts of hypothesizing, circularity, and neutrality.
• To introduce strategizing as a crucial element of therapist decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of four core interviewing guidelines: hypothesizing, circularity, neutrality, and strategizing.
• Reformulation of guidelines as conceptual postures for clarity and application.
• Differentiation of strategizing as the therapist's decision-making process.

Main Results:

• Identifies four key guidelines: hypothesizing, circularity, neutrality, and strategizing.
• Clarifies complex concepts like circularity and neutrality through conceptual postures.
• Highlights the role of strategizing in therapist decision-making and guideline application.

Conclusions:

• Conscious application of these four guidelines can significantly enhance therapeutic outcomes in clinical interviews.
• Further papers will explore reflexive questioning and question-selection schemes for advanced therapeutic practice.