The Therapeutic Interview Process in Qualitative Research Studies

The Therapeutic Interview Process in Qualitative Research Studies Interviews represent one of the most effective ways to collect data in qualitative research because they provide the researcher with opportunities for rich data and meaning making (Warren, 2002). In particular, interviews represent a useful method of obtaining information about families and individual family members (Beitin, 2008). As such, in many counseling fields, including the field of marriage and family therapy, interviews have been the most utilized qualitative method (Gehart, Ratliff, & Lyle, 2001). Because interviewing is an important part for many clinicians representing the counseling fields due to its ability to capture the client's voice, these clinicians might assume that "interviewing is as similar as breathing" (Thorne, 2008, p. 78). However, this line of thinking might render them resistant to changing their styles of interviewing appropriately--if at all-to adjust to the interview context and to meet the needs of the interviewee(s). Thus, more guidance is needed to help clinicians in general and counseling researchers in particular confront the challenges in transitioning to research interviewing. Such guidance is particularly needed for counselor researchers, who, when conducting research interviews, must change their mindset from viewing themselves as the experts to treating the research participants (i.e., interviewees) as experts regarding their own experiences. Such a shift in thinking has occurred in some perspectives of viewing clients in therapy. For example, Anderson and Goolishian (1992) described their shift from simply processing information during therapy to a more hermeneutic and interpretive position that placed "heavy emphasis on the role of language, conversation, self, and story" (p. 28). The role of the therapist became one of not-knowing, which meant that the therapist's understanding of a client's situation is not limited by pre-determined theoretical points of view or prior experiences. As such, the therapist did not have a privileged viewpoint of understanding the client's situation (Wachterhauser, 1986). Moreover, just as therapeutic practitioners must continually reinvent themselves to stay relevant and essential to current and prospective clients (Winslade, 2009); counselor researchers also must continually seek out the most effective ways to gather and to analyze data. Because wellness is seen as the paradigm for the field of counseling (Myers & Sweeney, 2008), we believe that, in certain instances--that is, depending on the research question and the overall goal of the study--the transformative conception of interviewing (Roulston, 2010) is the most pertinent to counselor researchers. It is important to note that Clarke (2006) discussed the potential harm to clients that might result from qualitative interviewing (see also Boudah & Lenz, 2000; Bussell, Matsey, Reiss, & Heatherington, 1995); and we agree that is a danger. Berger and Malkinson (2000) enumerate seven aspects of the research process that might have therapeutic implications for participants, offer a perspective on ethical responsibilities of research considering these therapeutic implications, and caution researchers about possible negative unintended outcomes for participants. Other authors (Corbin & Morse, 2005; Dickson-Swift, James, Kippen, & Liamputtong, 2006) also address issues of risk and ethical challenges when conducting qualitative interviews. As such, what is needed in qualitative interviewing are specific strategies garnered from counselor training for conducting transformative interviewing. From their training as practitioners, counselor researchers possess skills such as empathic responding; multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills; and the ability to be reflexive. We believe these skills guide counselor researchers and help in their awareness of how qualitative interviewing might impact their participants. …