Process Recording

Description of process recording A Process Recording is the interns verbatim recollection of the interaction. Preparation for process recording requires that interns concentrate on the client(s) verbal and nonverbal behavior throughout the encounter. Documentation leads the intern to review the sequence of events and reassess the transaction. Interns also assess their practice behaviors, skills, attitudes, and values through process recordings. Process recordings are used to develop skills in engagement, assessment, intervention, self-awareness, and use of self in the client transaction. Process recordings, like any other forms of recording, serve as a basis for discussion in supervision and in the classroom.

Purpose of recordings

• A method for field instructor and faculty liaison to provide corrective feedback
• A mechanism for evaluating interns practice behavior/skill level
• A mechanism for evaluating interns professional development
• A method for teaching intern to assess the client-situation and their own performance
• A method for the student to become aware of their emotional and cognitive responses during client interactions
• A method used in combination with other learning approaches such as audio and video recordings of client transactions
• A method for integrating theory with practice

Policies concerning confidentiality and ownership of recordings All intern educational recordings are to be treated confidentially. Client names and identifying information should be disguised, preferably by assigning pseudonyms. The intern, field instructor, faculty liaison, and School of Social Work Assessment Panel are persons privy to intern recordings. Process recordings are to be completed in the students on-line portfolio in SONIA, and may be deleted after the assessment process and/or at the end of the academic year with the approval of the Field Instructor and Faculty Liaison.

Outline for process recording

1. Goal and /or purpose of interview/client contact (5 points).The purposes of the client(s) contacts will be concise, clear, specific to the client and the interview, and, preferably, measurable. The purpose of the contact shows the relatedness between this interview and previous interviews, when applicable. The purpose can also be personal.
2. Professional: What are you interviewing for? Remember, an interview is a conversation with a purpose. Are you assessing, evaluation, updating, linking, negotiating, confronting, responding, etc. and for what?
3. Personal: Why did you choose this particular interview for a process recording? Was this something you did well? Something you got stuck on? Something you wanted to practice? What do you want feedback on from your supervisor? For example, This was a routine visit for…and I want to assess how well I did on…
4. Content Dialogue (10 points). Record (write down/type) verbatim the content of the interview or interaction. At a minimum, the content section should include the following:
5. Description of how the interview began (introductions, clarification of purposes of interaction, planning task implementation, etc.)
6. Pertinent factual information and responses of both client and intern
7. Identification of specific social work practice behaviors/skills used – list in column headed practice behavior/skill used
8. Description of the apparent emotional content of the interview – identify interns emotional responses in the column your emotional reaction
9. Description of thoughts that led to the verbal response and/or assessment of that response/intervention – describe under the column your assessment
10. Observations/Skills Used (15 points). Record observations of the clients appearance, demeanor, nonverbal communications, thought process, discrepancies between verbal statements, affect, etc. Record general impressions of the physical and emotional climate of the transaction. AS EVIDENCED BY!!! Use your five senses and get behavioral about the client and the environment. Note any Social Work skills that you used during the interaction.
11. Summary of Student Impressions (5 points). The post-interview assessment includes intern impressions based on the interactions and content of the interview. Was rapport established? Were the purposes attained? Why or why not? Was the focus maintained in the transaction? What are the barriers to change, if any? Were the clients motivations and capacities a help or hindrance to the process? Are additional resources needed? How did the client respond to you, your intervention? Themes present in the interview?
12. Future Plans (5 points). Summarize plans and goals for the next transaction, if another will occur. Ties in with the assessment. What will you and the client do nextwhat, when, where, why? If you do not plan to see this client again, what would you plan if you were to see them again?
13. Identification of Questions for Supervision (5 points). The intern should carefully reflect on the interaction with the client(s), and come up with questions to discuss in supervision that will enhance the students learning.
14. Social work practice behaviors, skills, and competencies (5 points). Practice behaviors under each competency are listed in your learning contract, with more in-depth descriptions of the knowledge, values, and skills that make up each competency being located in the final evaluation measure. As you list practice behaviors demonstrated, you may also specify the skill components of the competency. For example, if, in a sample process recording, you listed practice behavior 10.1, use of empathy and other interpersonal skills, you could also list use of self, as a skill for this particular practice behavior. The intern assesses the various roles (advocate, problem solver, resource broker, case manager, etc.), interview and engagement, assessment intervention skills, self-awareness, and use of self in the transaction. If the intern could do the interview over again, what would she/he do differently? What did you notice about your thoughts/feelings and how they impacted the interview?

Write this process recording as a social work intern at a hospice company who is speaking with a bereaved loved one. Use the template provided. Make the conversation realistic and thoughtful.