The Process Recording

video: Jennifer Dworkin’s Love & Diane

The Process Recording (PR) Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with the experience of a completing a process recording.

Using the process recording form, you are to complete a process recording of your initial interview with Love following the court’s referral of her to your agency. Love is being referred to your agency to monitor her home and relationship with Donyaeh to help her maintain custody and prevent against his replacement into foster care.

The interview should consist of 10 client-social worker interchanges (the client saying something and the social worker’s response counts as 1 interchange). I have given you the first interchange on the PR and you need to do 10 more. You can pair up with someone else in the class and role play the interview (and then switch roles) or you can imagine how the interview might go (what do you think Love would say and what would you say in response).

I have also completed page one (as an example) except for your name which is where you will type in your name. Then go on to the columns that pertain to the interview content (verbatim) and practice skills used. For each statement that you make (SWI) there should be a corresponding practice skill (taken from the list of practice skills that is on BB and was part of your midterm exam). The columns that ask you to identify student’s feelings, student’s thoughts and analysis and supervisor comments as well as the other questions on the form that ask to describe the client’s personal and environmental strengths etc. are not to be completed. As you complete the process recording please keep the purpose of the interview and the assessment outline in mind.

Grading will be based on the accuracy of the practice skills used and the coherence between the interview content and its relation to the purpose of the interview.

Social Work Practice Skills/Interventions

1. FACT FINDING QUESTIONS (FFQ): Questions to obtain or confirm information about specific facts. (e.g. Who do you live with? What is your telephone number? What is your address? etc.)

2. ADVICE: is giving suggestions to a client about what might be best for them to do. ONE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS INTERVENTION, as it is best for clients to come up with their own solutions to issues. Additionally, we must be very careful to refrain from providing any advice or making suggestions prematurely (e.g. before we have a full understanding of the situation or for issues where we may lack a sufficient level of expertise).

3. (To keep talking) FURTHERING RESPONSES: encourages clients to continue verbalizing their concerns through the use of minimal verbal and non-verbal prompts. (e.g. brief phrases/utterances such as “ uh-huh”, “continue”, “I understand”, “tell me more” etc. with appropriate non-verbal behaviors such as looking interested, focused and attentive, and maintaining eye contact.

4. (understanding of clients’ thoughts, feelings )REFLECTION: is the worker communicating your understanding of clients’ thoughts, feelings, and meanings by repeating back to the client what he/she just said in almost a verbatim manner (see example #1 below). It also can include observations about the client’s physical behaviors or reactions (see example #2 below).

Example #1:

Client: “I’m at the end of my rope with my teenage son, Jonathan. I don’t know what to do with him anymore. Yesterday, he was suspended from school again for punching another student. (Client’s eyes begin to tear.) I just don’t know what to do.”

S/W: “So I hear you saying that you are at the end of your rope with your son. He was suspended from school again for punching another student and you don’t know what to do.”

Example # 2:

S/W: “As you tell me this you look so sad.”

5. PARAPHRASING: is the worker communicating that the s/w has grasped the content of the client’s message by using different and new words to restate the client’s message concisely.

Client (a mother speaking about her daughter): “When it comes right down to it, I think I’m to blame for a lot of her problems”.

S/W: “So you see yourself as having contributed to many of your daughter’s struggles.”

6. SUMMARIZING is the practice intervention in which the worker repeats back to the client the many things that the client has been saying, but in an organized, succinct way. This is often done at the end of a session but can also be done periodically during a session.

S/W (to a young wife with two young children): “What I have heard today is that you are tired of your husband treating you with disrespect and that if he doesn’t stop making abusive comments toward you, you are considering leaving him although you are worried about how this would affect the kids and whether you could manage financially on your own. You mentioned moving in with your sister but she too is struggling in ways that are similar to yours and this may not improve your situation.”

7. EMPATHIC RESPONDING: S/W demonstrates awareness/understanding about the emotions the client has experienced or is currently experiencing.

Client (16 year old probationer): “I don’t see the sense in having to come here every f*****g week. I haven’t been in any trouble since I went to court a month ago and jumping that turnstile was nothing compared to the other stuff I’ve done in the past. Now I gotta meet with you but you can’t do nothing until the next time we go to court. This is a joke and a waste of time.” S/W: “I get how upset you are with having to come here especially when you feel this whole thing is unfair, a waste of your time and that I don’t have the authority to change the court order until we go to court”.

8. NORMALIZING is a practice intervention in which the worker indicates to the client that his/her reaction is understandable, and similar to what others would feel, think, and/or do in that situation.

Client: I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s been 9 months since my wife died and I just can’t pull things together. I’m still a mess.”

S/W: After being married for 32 years, and having your wife suddenly die, it is completely understandable that you are having a difficult time”.

9. REASSURANCE: expressing a realistic sense of hope that the client will be able to resolve or deal with the current situation or words of advice and comfort intended to alleviate one’s worry. (needs to be based in reality and timed appropriately).

Client: “My life is hopeless and I don’t know what I am doing here. This is my third time in substance abuse treatment and I never seem to be able to stay clean. I’ll never get clean!”

S/W: I know that you are feeling some hopelessness, but in my experience many, many people who have relapsed more times than you have learned to get clean and sober.”

Example of what NOT to do:

Client: “My life is hopeless and I don’t know what I am doing here. This is my third time in substance abuse treatment and I never seem to be able to stay clean. I’ll never get clean!”

S/W: You’ve relapsed twice and you are feeling some hopelessness, but I know this time you can do it and get clean.”

10. EXPLORATION OF FEELINGS involves eliciting from clients what they are feeling about a situation in their lives or what they are feeling in the session with the worker. This can be done either by directly asking clients about what they feel or by making statements that possibly reflect what the client is feeling.

(Eliciting feelings example)

Client: My husband started cursing at me when he came home from work because the apartment was a mess. He doesn’t understand what I have to deal with all day!

S/W: How was it for you when he cursed at you? Or, How did you feel when he cursed at you?

(Making a statement about what the client is feeling)

Client: My husband started cursing at me when he came home from work because the apartment was a mess. He doesn’t understand what I have to deal with all day!

S/W: I imagine that you must have felt so angry at your husband when he started cursing at you.

Note: It is certainly possible that the worker’s reflection of the client’s feelings may be inaccurate. Generally clients will let the worker know that the comment was inaccurate, in which case the worker will thank the client for this feedback and try to clarify what the client was feeling.

11. EXPLORATION OF THOUGHTS is asking clients about what they think about a situation. This involves all aspects of cognition including thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions.

Client: I’m kind of upset today. At the party I went to last night, I was joking with this guy who I like, and he suddenly looked really offended. He said to me, “You know, Bill, you just don’t know when to stop! When you make jokes, you go over the line and get really offensive. Someday someone is going to punch you in the face.” And then he walked away.

S/W: What do you think about what he said?

12. DESCRIPTION is asking the client what happened in a situation.

Client: “My 14 year old son began cursing at me and wouldn’t stop. He then started throwing dishes and other stuff around without any regard for anything or anyone.”

S/W: “And then what happened?”

13. CLARIFICATION is asking the client to be more detailed in what they are telling you (deeper than Description).

Client: “I was cooking dinner and my husband walked into the kitchen and got all in my face. It really got me angry.

S/W: “What do you mean by your husband getting all in your face? “

14. REFRAMING is the practice intervention in which the worker re-words what the client says as a way to have the client look at the situation in a different way (e.g. an overprotective parent becomes a concerned parent).

Client (a 15 year old adolescent male): My mom does not trust me and I can’t stand her overprotectiveness. She’s always telling me how I have to attend school and do my homework and does not let me do anything. She doesn’t give my any freedom and treats me like a little kid. She makes me so mad and I just can’t take it.”

S/W: Sounds like you don’t agree with the way that your mom is trying to show her concern for you.

(Notice how the worker re-named (reframed) the client’s complaints of overprotectiveness, lack of trust and freedom as “concern” to try to facilitate a more productive dialogue).

15. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT is when the worker praises the client for something the client did with the intent of increasing the chance of that behavior in the future. (Can be an affirmation)

Client: I can’t tell you how happy I am as after weeks of avoiding talking to my brother about what he did to our cousin I called him and we have begun talking about it.

S/W: That’s wonderful. Good for you!

16. PROVIDING FEEDBACK is when the worker conveys to the client what he thinks or feels about the client’s issues or behaviors. (Can be considered a form of self-disclosure).

Client: Since we had that discussion last month, I have been trying very hard to improve the way I dress. Have you noticed any differences?

S/W: Yes, now that you mention it I certainly have noticed that you seem to be paying closer attention to your appearance.

17. AFFIRMATION is when the worker comments on something that is good about the person. It involves noticing, recognizing, and acknowledging the positive and can be about intentions as well as actions.

Client: I’m disappointed in myself because I didn’t stick to my plan and drank two days this week.

S/W: It sounds like you think you really blew it but you were able to get right back on your plan to not drink, good for you!

Client: (saying to worker) “You don’t know what you are talking about”.

S/W: “You’ve really thought this through”.

18. SELF-DISCLOSURE involves the worker sharing his/her own feelings and or/experiences. This intervention must be used judiciously and with appropriate timing (when rapport and trust has been established). The primary reason for using this intervention is to provide a sense of a shared experience that will benefit the client and the client-worker relationship in some way. Client:” I don’t know what to do about Kevin anymore (client’s 8 year old inattentive, hyperactive child who is having academic problems). For years we have been doing everything we can to try to structure his time and provide him with support but he continues to have trouble paying attention and it is really interfering with his school work and some of his social relationships. I worry that if he falls too far behind he will not catch up and will begin feeling worse about himself. He’ll think he is stupid or not capable which will not help him in the future. We’ve been over this a thousand times and I have done all of the research but I can’t seem to make the decision to try medication.”

S/W: “As we’ve discussed the decision to use or not use medication is a difficult one as there are many factors involved and every child and situation is unique. I struggled with the same decision for my own child when he was about the same age and continue to have concerns about how to best help him. Eventually we decided on a trial when his academics suffered to the point that he was becoming in jeopardy of being held over”.

Solution

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