Intake and Assessment Role-Play Part 1 - Referral and Presenting Problems

This video is part one of an intake and assessment (clinical interview) role-play of a counseling client (played by an actress) who is having symptoms of anger, substance use, and inflexible thinking. In this section, data about the referral and presenting problems are collected.

[lizconnor]

I like how he establishes a collaborative relationship with the client and allows her to identify her own presenting problems. He very well could have focused too quickly on her anger issues and not learned of her substance use issues. Very helpful!

[alexandraea]

I’ve been a viewer for a couple of years but I’m so happy I discovered these older videos. I’m studying to be a counsellor and these are really helpful for me.

[UnclaimedBeauty]

As a social work intern, he helped me with my individual intake session and others. I absolutely love his role plays!

[zureezee]

I like that the intake seems to be very conversational and you are not getting stuck on anything but clarifying when need.

[monicaperry]

This was a good use of both open and close ended questions. I like how Dr. Grande used silence in order to allow her to complete her thought or to add more to what issue she was discussing.

[tsbcmhc]

Easy enough to read about how and intake is supposed to be done is one thing, but being able to see one being conducted proved to be very beneficial. Thanks!

[rosasutton]

Thank you for demonstrating rapport building with an initially resistant client and how essential it is during the assessment process. As she became more comfortable, the client was more willing to discuss more.

[MyDonh]

very analytical. It was person centered but still information driven. I like how Dr Grande was able to do both at the same time. He elicited all of the information necessary to conducted a thorough assessment and built a therapeutic alliance with her while doing so.

[amandagerrick]

This video was very helpful in seeing how the beginning part of an intake should go. I wasn't aware that the presenting problem could be spoken about so in-depth but I was glad to see it presented this way to get a better idea.

[janicedixon]

Dr. Grande did A really good job making sure the client understood what to expect in therapy. He also did well reflecting and paraphrasing.

[jazzmynmolson]

This intake was straightforward. It showed how a counselor should interact with a client for a first time. Specifically, when Dr. Grande gave the client the option to not talk about certain topics if she does not feel comfortable. Dr. Grande did well in building trust with the client and not being judgmental.

[AdrienneZazulak]

I was already following you Dr Grande! but then they plugged this video in a class I'm taking for my post-grad. Love it!! thank you

[angelinastanton]

This video was great because it shows the counselor checking in with the client to see if the presenting problems were accurate to the client. I will practice checking in more with the client after going over each section of the intake process.

[kikixiong]

i like that Dr. gave the client the choice at first if there's a topic is one that the client does not want to talk about, she had a choice not to.

[alexdeloach]

This was a great way to show how to build rapport and open a clinical interview session.

[Suzu-myrj]

I showed this to a clinician friend who thought the counselor spoke too slowly with a lot of pause. It was good that he gave the option of comfortability at the start and reiterated the clients concerns.However, I would not go back after the initial meeting, he was boring.

[eddieyenzah]

I love the conversation. He was able to establish a unique relationship with the client first, that which allows her to feel free to identify her own problem.

[rhondabaileyyy]

I do like the option that was given to the client to feel free to not answer questions that they deemed to be too sensitive for a first meeting. I believe that after some further rapport building the client become more forthcoming.

[kyarapanula]

Great evidence here for maintaining accurate empathy and feedback with an 'unwilling' client. Dr. Grande uses a combination of open and closed questions to guide the client in continuing to share despite her initial statements of just doing her friend a favor. This becomes a hearty testimonial of not only how she feels and behaves, but also how friends view her.

[niktucker]

I think that it is important for a counselor to let the client know what to expect during an intake. The counselor in this role play was very patient with the client while probing for information. I like the way this assessment was structured, the counselor was able to obtain some very important information from the client.