Interviewing in Social Work

Interviewing is an essential part of social work. Social workers spend most of their time interviewing people, which is why it is a crucial skill in social work. Social workers should have certain technical skills and knowledge of the characteristics and patterns of social work interview. They should know how to commence and put an end, to evaluate where the emphasis should be placed. Interviewing is a difficult and delicate art. Failure to secure needed information, invasion of the interviewee’s personality, conflict, and hostility – occur only too frequently even with experienced interviewers. The needs of both practitioners and students have been kept in mind in the preparation of this volume. That is, logical as well as pedagogical considerations have governed the organization of the material.