ABSTRACT
This chapter describes Tier One of the Clinical Interviews, Standardized Speciality, Drug Detection, and Personality Assessment (CLISD-PA) model and identifies differences between clinical interviews and conversations. It discusses potential benefits of clinical interviews and describes specific questioning techniques used in individual clinical interviews. The chapter also discusses the relevant information that can be obtained by establishing a historical perspective and shows that specific standardized individual clinical interview techniques. It explores potential disadvantages of clinical interviewing. Typically, clinical interviews have been used to address one of two primary purposes: diagnostic assessment or descriptive assessment. Three particularly effective clinical interview techniques are used in the first CLISD-PA model tier. These techniques include projective, circular, and direc tive questioning. The individual clinical interview establishes the foundation for all further assessments and provides a context for understanding information gathered in later tiers. Individual clinical interviews have great data-gathering utility.
