Conducting Student-Driven Interviews: Practical Strategies for Increasing Student Involvement and Addressing Behavior Problems

This user-friendly book equips school practitioners with practical skills and strategies for conducting student-driven interviews―conversations that invite students of all ages to take charge of school-behavior problems and build solutions based on their own strengths and resources. In contrast to traditional interviewing models that approach behavior problems by focusing on what is wrong and missing in students’ lives, student-driven interviews help students discover and apply what is right and working in their lives―successes, strengths, values, and other "natural resources."

In Conducting Student-Driven Interviews, readers will learn how to customize conversations one student at a time using ideas and techniques that have been field tested for application to real problems of real students in the real world of schools. The book’s positive, student-driven approach is illustrated through dozens of real-life dialogues and examples involving a wide range of students and problems, and the author’s irrepressible faith in students’ ability to change jumps off of every page. School-based professionals of all backgrounds will find Conducting Student-Driven Interviews an invaluable roadmap for increasing student involvement and involving students in every aspect of their care, from goal development through evaluation of services.

John J. Murphy, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of Central Arkansas. He is also an internationally recognized author and trainer on using strength-based therapy approaches with young people and school problems. His books have been translated into multiple languages and his work has been featured in the New York Times bestseller Switch and the training series Child Therapy with the Experts. He is a sought-after workshop presenter who has trained thousands of mental health professionals and teachers in the US and overseas. More information on his work and training can be found at www.drjohnmurphy.com.