ABSTRACT
The interview can take a great many forms and the social worker is likely to have as many verbal exchanges with non-clients as with clients. The social work interview is normally different from these, although we have recognised that relief from tension can be achieved through counselling. All interviews can be subjected to review as Banaka has suggested: It is a worthwhile principle to adopt in social work that no meeting should take place, no interview be held, unless an output is intended. The following is an abbreviated and amended version of Jamieson's principles: Interviews are free-flowing, open events: their direction is never wholly predictable, and the interviewer's contribution can never be accurately programmed. Task-centred studies have shown that the technique brings focus to the worker's approach, and, if properly contracted, is appreciated by the client: it makes sense, it is practical and it demonstrates a degree of professional expertise that is valued by the recipient of the service.
