Style and Delivery in Psychology and Social Work

Dr. Bahr is a psychologist at the Utah State Prison. Her style in this setting is always very professional. She dresses in professional work attire, calls people by “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and tries to refrain from sharing anything personal. She works with inmates and then has to type up observational and behavioral notes on the inmates as documentation of the interaction. In her notes, she has to be very careful not to make any biased remarks that could color other professional’s decisions about the inmate, as these notes will likely go to the Board of Pardons, other therapists and case workers. These notes could impact future decisions about the inmate- whether his completion of therapy assignments shows progress and empathy, or whether he will serve the full ten years of his five-to-ten year sentence. Everything about the observational notes needs to be descriptive and thorough. The whole interaction is very professional and structured.

            Mr._____ was very vocal in therapy today. When another inmate read his assignment about the person he victimized, Mr. _____ asked how he thinks his victim is feeling now, after the fact. This is in line with the assignment Mr. _____ is working on, which is victim empathy. He made several other comments that showed insight into the assignments and was able to adequately explain concepts to the other men in the group. He showed initiative by commenting without being prompted too. Outside of group, he has completed every assignment, stayed out of fights, and has obeyed all rules.

This letter is very direct, with observational notes and without biased statements, such as “I think it’s doing well” and “he seemed confused.” This type of writing is very characteristic of psychologists because it gives facts instead of assertions.

In conversation, Dr. Bahr would be likely to be very general in her statements, as to not lead certain answers. She would guide conversation with questions to generate thought, without prompting the clients. She would build rapport by validating statements, being unbiased, and rephrasing the client’s words to show she was listening. Here is an example of a person-to-person conversation:

Client: When I committed my crime, I was just thinking that it wasn’t so bad. I grew up with this kind of treatment, so it seemed normal to me. I didn’t really think I was harming anyone.

Psychologist: So, you didn’t realize it was wrong? What do you think now? How do you think what you did actually affected the person you victimized? What do you think (spoken to other clients in the group)?

This type of language aims to stay away from accusations, belittling people, and fault-finding. Its goal is to create a comfortable environment that helps the individual think about situations on their own. It is most beneficial for a person to gain answers on their own- it provides more solidified learning and helps to establish empathy for others. Using this conversational tone, the psychologist can help clients to truly understand prompts and feel comfortable confiding information.