New Tools for Romanian SLPs to use with Language Learning Children

The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of using three functional measures: Auditory Developmental Scale (0-6 years), Caregiver Intake Interview, and Infant-Directed Speech Checklist in SLT. In the first part of this article, the authors discuss the purpose and advantages of using these instruments in SLT practice. In the last part of this article, the Caregiver Intake Interview and the Infant-Directed Speech Checklist are presented in two languages, English and Romanian.

The Patients' Practises Disclosing Subjective Experiences in the Psychiatric Intake Interview

In psychiatric diagnostic interviews, a clinician's question designed to elicit a specific symptom description is sometimes met with the patient's self-disclosure of their subjective experience. In shifting the topical focus to their subjective experiences, the patients do something more or something other than just answering the question. Using conversation analysis, we examined such sequences in diagnostic interviews in an outpatient clinic in Finland. From 10 audio-recorded diagnostic interviews, we found 45 segments where medical questions were met with patients' self-disclosures. We show four sequential trajectories that enable this shift of topic and action. There are four possible trajectories: (1) the patient first answers the medical question and the clinician acknowledges this answer, whereupon the patient shifts to a self-disclosure of their subjective experience; (2) the patient first gives the medical answer but shifts to self-disclosure without the clinician's acknowledgement of that answer; (3) the patient produces an extensive answer to the medical question and, in the course of producing this, shifts into the self-disclosure; (4) the patient does not offer a medical answer but designs the self-disclosure as if it were the answer to the medical question. We argue that in the shifts to the self-disclosure of their subjective negative experience, the patients take local control of the interaction. These shifts also embody a clash between the interactional projects of the participants. At the end of the paper, we discuss the clinical relevance of our results regarding the patient's agency and the goals of the psychiatric assessment.

A Common Approach and Low Vision Rehabilitation in Patients with Hereditary Retinal Diseases

The goal of low vision rehabilitation is to produce people who are independent, have an economically viable profession or skill, and are able to enjoy their lives. Patients with hereditary retinal dystrophies are candidates for low vision rehabilitation from the time of diagnosis, since their disease shows a progressive course, there is no proven precise treatment and the disease especially seriously affects the vision of individuals of school age and productive age. The stages of modern low vision rehabilitation include the intake interview, assessment of residual visual functions, assessment of residual functional vision, interventions and recommendations, and vision rehabilitation therapies.

Intake Interviews—The “Real” Problem and the Best Way to Fix It

In Intake Interviews, the “Real” Problem, and How to Fix It, the authors identify the process and unrealistic expectations of the intake interview. With a 60 to 90 minute framework, the clinician is to identify problems, diagnose, and document a treatment plan. The intake interview often is a formal or standardized process for therapy—a process that may neither be formal nor standardized. Moreover, there is very poor consistency on how to interpret information form an intake session. Clinicians will often disagree on diagnoses and problem areas. Therapists inevitably will develop very diverse treatment plans. Diagnoses tend to be highly inconsistent among clinicians and often contribute more to client stigma than care. Moreover, the formal process of the intake interview may take away from the client’s agenda, which is important to understanding the client and the client returning for therapy.

An illness narrative or a social injustice narrative?

This chapter discusses the difficulty faced by therapists when, instead of a story of emotional problems, they are presented in the course of a professional consultation with a narrative about social injustice. The chapter includes a detailed analysis of a single intake session and subsequent post-intake interviews, taken from a large study on intakes in mental health clinics with culturally diverse populations in Israel. The client–subject of this chapter presented herself to a mental health facility, claiming a state of crisis due to the downgrading of her employment status, which she attributed to systematic corporate injustice. During the intake interview, there were a number of disagreements between the client and the therapist. While the client sought to relate a narrative of injustice, the therapist insisted on identifying an illness narrative. This chapter argues that the battle of narratives is a political battle, and highlights the political power wielded by therapists in defining diagnoses and treatment recommendations.

Why can’t patients last the wait?

One million people in North America are currently waiting for publicly funded substance use treatment. Unfortunately, long waiting times have been listed as the number one reason for not seeking treatment for substance use problems. While it is possible that successful abstinence during the waiting period convinces patients that they do not need treatment at all, more emphasis must be placed on interventions that can bridge the gap between initial contact by patients for substance use treatment and treatment intake. Recommendations in this review include: (1) decreasing the length of time between a patient’s initial contact for treatment and the pre-intake interview, (2) initiating regular phone contact with patients, and (3) decreasing resentful demoralization in patients who are ready for change but who are forced to wait for treatment.