Contact a social worker you would like to interview. You may find an interviewee by asking social workers in current or previous field placements or calling or emailing social workers in agencies that serve a population in which you are interested, such as human services agencies, hospitals, child welfare/protection settings, etc. The practitioner may be in micro, mezzo, or macro setting.
Interview the social worker in person or via phone/video conference. Use the questions below as a guide and please know they represent the minimum that should be elicited from this interview. Please feel free to add additional questions as you see fit.
Summarize the social worker’s responses and provide your own reflection in narrative form. See below for questions that may serve as a guide. Do not exceed 750 words; be brief, yet thorough, in your summary.
The social worker can be made up for this assignment but please answer the questions as follows
Use correct, professional writing in narrative/paragraph form on the provided template; include an APA formatted citation for the interview.
Clinician Position?
Agency/Work Setting Description?
Credentials?
Years of Experience?
Practice Area of Expertise?
Which theoretical framework(s) do you most often use with clients/consumers in your agency/organization?
Why do you use this/these theories? In what ways do you use them (assessment, intervention, etc)?
Do others in your agency use the same or different theories? Does your agency/supervisor formally encourage use of a particular theory?
How do you think using (or not using) a theoretical framework affects your assessment capabilities? Informs your interventions?
*Self-Reflection Questions
What did you think about the social worker’s knowledge of theory in general?
Of his or her choices in theoretical frameworks most often used?
Did the social worker express any thoughts about a theory that surprised you?
Do you imagine that your approach to working with future clients will be similar to or different than that of your interviewee?
Other thoughts on the interview?