Interviewer: – Can you describe the current important events for you, which have been happening this week?
Patient: Well, this week was boringas usual honestly saying. I cannot say that I did not do anything during this week, though, I feel like procrastinating more than doing something important. I have this constant feeling of the tiredness and inability to get up and go to work every morning. It is like an endless life routine of the work, which never ends but seems to be so effortless and without any results.
Interviewer: – So, you feel more tired than bored because of your life. Have you tried to change something in it?
Patient: It is hard to say. I guess it is even easier to talk about it than to try to change something. I believe I am more afraid of changes since they may cause uncomfortable situations in my life. However, honestly speaking, I cannot imagine what to do in my life in order to change it. It is like the feeling of unawareness of where and how to start these changes.
– Interviewer: Are you afraid of changes because you are not sure about their stability?
Patient: Well noI mean not reallyWell, I do not know. Perhaps. I feel like having a premonition that these changes may lead to worse circumstances and I will not be able to come back to my previous life with this routine style. I fear to regret of changing this lifestyle and then I could even miss what I have now.
– Interviewer: It sounds like you do not want to lose what you have now. Maybe there is something that just disturbs you now, isn’t it?
Patient: I am not completely sure, but it is connected with my job. Honestly speaking, I think, I deserve more because I have been working really hard. However, still, I have not received any promotion yet. I believe that mu boss just ignores my achievements and success during the whole experience I have been working for this company.
– Interviewer: Your efforts seem to be underestimated. I guess you need change your perspective. Did you think about taking a vacation for a while?
Patient: I have not thought about it. Perhaps it will clear up my mind. Besides, I am so tired because of my constant feeling of the anxiety and fear to be fired from a job.
- Interviewer: I see you are really in your job. Do you have any hobbies besides your job?
Patient: That’s the problem. I have no time for myself. I am just working and working. And the feeling that I am not achieving my goal – is ruining me inside. After the working hours, I try to read some professional literature or even some self-development manual guidance.
- Interviewer: I ought to tell you that it seems like you have an emotional burnout because of your work and being in your work 24/7. Would you try to go fishing or playing golf with your friends?
Patient: I am not sure if I will have some spare time. But if you say it will help not only for my personal treatment but also my professional, I will try. But I do not promise because I am not sure about my time.
- Interviewer: We shall focus on your anxiety. Do you sleep well in the night?
Patient: It is hard to call this phenomenon as sleeping. I close my eyes but a constant stream of thoughts and this headache destroy my sleep. I succumb to the thoughts and just lay thinking about my work and every possibility to achieve something more. Besides, I have a lot of memories about lost opportunities.
- Interviewer: How often do you have headaches?
Patient: Hah, it is easier to tell you when I do not have any headaches. I live with headaches, and they are an inevitable part of my life. I cannot get rid of them despite I take a painkiller almost every day.
– Interviewer: It is symptoms of the emotional burnout and even nervous breakdown. Do you realize now that you will not achieve your goals while having a constant feeling of anxiety?
Patient: Actually, I have not observed it from this perspective. So, my main problem is my too serious and precise attitude to the work and my duties.
In order to get more information from the patient, one should paraphrase and summarize his or her ideas so that the patient thinks that there is a comfortable zone for sharing his thoughts and feelings. While paraphrasing, a specialist can think over the problem one more time and search for a possible solution to this problem. Besides, while using this technique, the client hears his own words but from the other side and realize the problem better since he or she listens to the problem from the other perspective. The respond is more than positive since the patient does not ignore or block the specialist’s words, though; she or he tries to employ them in the real situations in their lives.
The psychological treatment is often combined with the treatment of the several symptoms together. It provides the specialists with a great variety of opportunity and the patient seems to be more stable afterward (Treatments, 2017). Therefore, the combination of treatments, which is used during this session, tends to the deliverance not only the feeling of anxiety and fear but also the endless headaches and inability to sleep. The patient ought to be interested in treatment so that it will work for sure.
However still, the interviews are not the first way to gather the information concerning the patient and his/ her symptoms. The most accurate way is the observation, which still involves the skills of professionalism and years of practice (‘How Do Psychologists Collect Research Data?’, 2017). With the help of the observation, the specialist is able to read the non-verbal signs of the real anxiety, fear, and state of being uncomfortable. Moreover, the patient’s face expressions reveal his/ her own emotions and ruin the possibility to lie or deceive the truth.
On the other hand, all the treatment should not harm the patient. Therefore, the specialists have to be reliant and confident in the doctor’s secret (McLeod, 2017). In another way, the treatment will not help the patient and will even make him or her locked in the problems and symptoms, which she or he has. On the contrary, the patient should realize what the specialist is doing during the interview and the session. This trust and understanding will establish a link between the patient and specialist and enhance the productivity of the sessions.
References
How Do Psychologists Collect Research Data?. (2017). General Psychology. Retrieved 20 January 2017, from http://general-psychology.weebly.com/how-do-psychologists-collect-research-data.html
McLeod, S. (2017). Psychology Research Ethics | Simply Psychology. Simplypsychology.org. Retrieved 20 January 2017, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Ethics.html
Treatments, P. (2017). Psychological Treatments. Aboutibs.org. Retrieved 20 January 2017, from http://www.aboutibs.org/treatment-main/psychological-treatments.html
