Northgate Baptist Church
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:"(Prov. 17:22)
Northgate Baptist ChurchGuidelines For Interviewing
Hostile & Resistant Juveniles
1. Do not put a premium on getting the teenager to "Like" you --- rather, you must try to earn his/her respect.
2. Do not think that you must Manipulate or do things that are contrived to Court The Teenager's Favor; for example, use street language, dress a certain way.
3. Avoid the twin pitfalls of Gullibility and Cynicism.
4. Be alert to problems of Semantics --- that is, a teen may use a regular everyday English word and mean something totally different from your interpretation of it.
5. Be prepared to terminate the interviews when Anger stands in the way of Receptivity, Disclosure, and a Dialogue and most certainly if the teen becomes Directing, Threatening, or Intimidating.
6. If you use a Confrontive Style, be sure to be Direct and Firm but Without Being Provocative and forcing the teen into a corner where an attack is his only way out.
7. Expect to have to repeat the same point in different ways.
8. Do not be totally consumed by whether the teen is currently Telling The Truth --- that is, playing "detective" (if overdone) can stand in the way of what you are doing.
9. Take the position while counseling such a teen that it is his life --- whether he is sincere and truthful will be born out over time.
10. Avoid ridicule, anger, or sarcasm.
11. Ask yourself before each interview --- "What do I expect to accomplish?" --- then ask yourself if this is realistic.
12. You must try to control the interview politely and firmly rather than utilize a nondirective approach --- being nondirective or basically silent is seen as weakness.
A Search For The Truth
