Psychodynamic and structured interviewing: A synthesis I. Rationale

The divisions concerning interviewing strategies that have persisted among clinicians with different frames of reference and between clinicians and social scientists rest largely on unexamined traditional assumptions about the necessary differences in their subjects and methods. Such divisions have been disadvantageous for the investigation of many kinds of research problems. Sufficient bases exist for a synthesis of psychodynamic and structured interviewing techniques and such a strategy can be applied to both patient and nonpatient populations. Such a synthesis offers the potential of yielding a more complete and unbiased understanding of both the objective dimension of the behavior and the subjective dimension of motivations and meaning associated with psychosocial problems.