An initial interview with Ms. Greta produces little information about the kind of help she is seeking. She rambles between topics and introduces new people, events, and topics without making any connection between them. The social worker needs to extract elements from Ms. Greta that are relevant to the session. In this scenario, which of the following is the best course of action for the social worker?

A) The social worker should ask closed-ended questions to interrupt the flow of information.
B) The social worker should listen attentively for the emotional content of the message.
C) The social worker should summarize and provide focus to avert aimless wandering.
D) The social worker should allow her to tell her story and empathize with her.

Question

Zybrea Knight · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : C, Explanation :  In this scenario, Ms. Greta is rambling between topics and introducing new people, events, and topics without making connections between them. Summarizing and providing focus will help avert aimless wandering and help the social worker extract relevant elements from Ms. Greta's story. While empathizing and listening attentively are important, they may not be effective in helping the social worker extract focused information from Ms. Greta's rambling. Closed-ended questions may interrupt the flow of information but may not be the best approach in this scenario as the social worker needs to extract relevant information from Ms. Greta's story.

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