The Bad News A Difficult Interview
The bad news is that you will have to deal with a variety of questions, ranging from simple personal questions to difficult behavioral and technical questions. Last but not least, the school representatives must see an ally in you, someone who would advocate for the students, but not at all costs. Lets have a look at the list of questions now. Find a short hint in the brackets.
Autonomy Choice And Control
Questions about independence and autonomy were related to quality of life aspects such as pride, dignity, and privacy. Potential questions might include:
Have You Ever Had A Case That Was Hard Not To Take Home With You How Do You Separate Work And Personal Time To Maintain Your Mental Health
Counselors work with a range of clients, including clients with mental illnesses and people recovering from traumatic experiences or life changes. Because of the nature of their job, counselors need to have coping strategies or habits that help them maintain their mental health. This question allows interviewers to gauge a candidate’s ability to separate work from personal life so they can continue to influence positive change in the lives of others. The candidate’s answer should emphasize:
- Compassion for others
- Acknowledgement of how the job can impact mental health
- Example of work-life balance
Example:
“There was a particular case where a child lost both of their parents suddenly. It was challenging not to think about them throughout the day or during personal time. I had to remind myself that they had a support system in the form of extended family members, and I was fulfilling my role as a counselor to help them understand and cope with their loss. I’ve found that activities like running, gardening or cooking with family helps to restore my positive mindset and reminds me of all the beautiful parts of life.”
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Mental Health Therapist Interview Questions
Also known as a Mental Therapist, Mental Health Therapists facilitate sessions with clients to assess mental health disorders and treat them. Mental Health Therapists may also work with groups or families to provide therapy and may refer clients to specialists if need be.
When interviewing Mental Health Therapists the ideal candidate will remain professional and unbiased in all situations with clients and have an empathetic approach to providing treatment. Be wary of candidates with prejudices and an inability to adapt treatment to a particular client’s needs.
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Mental Health Questions Aimed At Students
Life skills and self-efficacy are two key aspects of mental health, which is why these measures are sometimes used to assess the latter.
Bashir mentions several assessments used to assess mental health, including:
- The Life Skills Assessment Questionnaire
- The Self-Efficacy Scale
- Mental Health Scale
Bashir found a positive significant relationship between the mental health of senior secondary school students with life skills and self-efficacy, suggesting that the two measures together can be used to get an understanding of students mental health.
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Questions About A Therapist’s Experience And Background
These questions help interviewers identify your educational and professional background, which qualifies you for therapist positions. Here are some background-focused questions you might hear during your interview:
Where did you attend school, and what degrees did you receive?
What made you decide to become a therapist?
How many BBS hours do you currently have?
Can you tell me about a time you helped a client open up? How did you accomplish this?
What is your process for reporting instances of abuse or neglect?
Can you tell me about a time you had an angry client? How did you make progress with them?
What types of assessments, specific to trauma or evidence of it, have you used to help your clients?
Have you worked more with children, adults or families? What is your preferred specialty?
Can you explain your clinical process before, during and after a session with a client?
What is your organizational system like to keep track of client notes and other important information?
Related: Everything You Need to Know About How to Become a Therapist
General Interview Questions For Therapists
General therapist interview questions help interviewers determine your professional traits and goals, along with how these can benefit the needs of their clinic. Here are some general questions you might encounter in your therapist interview:
What do you consider to be your top three strengths and weaknesses as a therapist?
What do you consider to be the most important traits for a therapist to have?
Why do you want to work for us rather than someone else?
What are your thoughts on confidentiality?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
What do you do outside of work that helps you maintain a healthy, well-balanced life?
How do you handle stress?
Why do you want this job?
In your opinion, what are the essential components of trust?
If you weren’t a therapist, what would you be?
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Best Questions For Your Sessions
A large part of knowing what and how to speak to your patients involves building a strong emotional bond. Emotional bonding between counselors and therapists could include compassionate and empathetic listening or humor. It could also involve just sitting with the patient while they are experiencing strong emotions and giving supportive, positive feedback .
Giving your patients opportunities for evaluation and reflection on what techniques are working for them in your sessions together will allow you and your patients to understand how they are feeling throughout treatment and ensure that the questions being asked are relevant to their experience .
This approach can also help develop the emotional bond between patient and counselor, as it allows for open communication and dialogue between the two parties.
Questions that can help facilitate reflection during your sessions include:
- How are we doing?
- What do you want to work on?
- What would you like to get out of todayâs session?
- Where would you eventually like to be?
- Where do you think you can go?
Making emotional bonding a central part of the counseling process means that instead of only relying on formal counseling techniques and interventions, you are also making an effort as a practitioner to ensure your patient is heard and that the sessions are moving at a pace they are comfortable with.
+ Substance Abuse Counselor Interview Questions
To become a certified substance abuse counselor, you must have at least a bachelors degree in a field such as counseling, psychology, sociology, or social work
Following are questions regarding your childs personal history. Has your child ever received a formal diagnosis from a mental health professional?
For many of us, the coronavirus pandemic has made a significant impact on our mental health. To learn how to better cope with these feelings of isolation,
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Example Questions About Wellbeing
The Canadian Mental Health Association provides some self-report questions that you can start with these questions cover six areas and require only agree/disagree responses. Try some of these as an example:
What Types Of Assessments Specific To Trauma Or Evidence Of It Have You Used To Help Your Clients
This question helps an interviewer gauge your knowledge and usage of available assessments. Your answer should include more than one of these assessments and your reasoning for using them.
Example:”As I typically work with children, I like to use the Child Behavior Checklist to help their parents identify potential behavioral problems and learning disabilities. I also find that using the Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale is beneficial in helping assess a child’s level of trauma in response to a recent traumatic event.”
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Do You Have Any Hobbies Or Interests Outside Of Work That Support Your Well
Though it may seem odd to ask such a question during an interview, it makes sense for the mental health industry in general. Having a self-care plan will help your potential employer make sure you dont burn out while helping others. Using this opportunity you could tell them about some hobbies you have or maybe mention that you are interested in mindfulness or yoga, which are very well supported in the mental health field. You are expecting your potential employer to want you to work hard, but they do not want you to work so hard that you are neglecting your health.
Example: In my spare time, I do what I encourage my clients to do. As much as possible, I exercise, go outside, or engage in some type of social interaction with family and friends. These activities help me feel fulfilled.
Mental Health Interview Questions
These are the top 20 resources and video content I found about mental health interview questions. I’ve created this page to highlight the most recently updated resources for “mental health interview questions”. This guide was updated: 2022-08-02. If you are searching for a job, good luck on the hunt!
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Mental Health Worker Interview Questions
Top 5 Mental Health Worker interview questions with detailed tips for both hiring managers and candidates.Read More…
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Mental health support worker interview questions answers
In this article, we explore some of the most common interview questions asked during a mental health support worker interview along with some great answers to help you win the job. Are you sitting comfortably?Read More…
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How Does A Typical Day For Mental Health Workers Look Like
This question is meant to test your familiarity with the daily routine of a mental health worker.
Tip #1: State the responsibilities of a mental health worker
Tip #2: Prove that you know your duties
Sample Answer
Mental health workers offer basic assistance, therapy, and care to patients with psychological conditions or developmental disabilities. They assist doctors, psychiatrists, and nurses, administer therapeutic care, monitor the conditions of their patients, and provide crisis intervention. They also develop treatment strategies and plans that suit their patients needs.
Tell Me About A Time When You Helped A Client Open Up
The interview wants to know more about your therapy tactics and how they can benefit his/ her institution.
Tip #1: Include a specific example.
Tip #2: Make sure that you include the technique and results.
Sample Answer
I once dealt with a client who was suffering from social anxiety. It was so bad that no one could encourage her to talk in a crowded room. Instead of forcing her to speak with me, I made her talk to the parent to reduce some stress. I allowed him to illustrate what he was feeling and write them down graphically. He didnt have to speak, but at least he communicated.
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Helpful Resources From Positivepsychologycom
Our site has many tools and resources that can help enhance your counseling practice. Whether you are a clinical counselor, marriage and relationship counselor, or career counselor, our activities and worksheets are highly variable and can apply to a variety of different contexts in the counseling profession.
Assessing a patientâs mental status is an important aspect when moving forward in ongoing counseling sessions. These Brief Mental Status Exam and Mental Status Exam â Exploring Strengths worksheets can help counselors get a baseline before they start working with their patients.
If youâre looking for more science-based ways to help others through CBT, check out this collection of 17 validated positive CBT tools for practitioners. Use them to help others overcome unhelpful thoughts and feelings and develop more positive behaviors.
Tell Me About A Time When You Struggled To Get Your Client To Express Their Feelings In Person Can You Tell Me How You Made Them Feel Comfortable Around You
Psychology may help patients who have been traumatized in the past and are reluctant to express themselves. When working with a patient, a psychologist must devise a strategy for making them feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts.
Example: A patient that I once worked with was nervous to open up to me about their childhood trauma due to fear that I would judge them. I decided to follow a different approach and talk about their most exciting or important moments as adults. By talking about positive experiences, we can put them in a good mood while building trust. Through a variety of sessions, I gradually advanced the conversation to more serious topics. I demonstrated this by just listening without passing judgment or making negative remarks about what they have done.
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What Are Your Salary Expectations
It is common for the interviewers to ask about your salary expectations during an interview session itself, just to ensure both you and your employer-to-be are on the same page. To prepare an ideal response for this question, just conduct a deep analysis of the mental health counseling industry and determine the salaries offered to the various professionals that share a work experience similar to you. Post this, calculate a mean salary, and base your salary quote on it.
How Would You Describe Your Theoretical Orientation
It is important to demonstrate both your knowledge and how you will apply it to the specific position you are applying for with this question. In case you are selected for the position, you will have a background in several theoretical orientations, many of which are excellent and evidence-based but dont apply to the population you will work with. Take advantage of your theoretical knowledge and apply it to the job and this particular population.
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Why Did You Choose To Be A Mental Health Counsellor
Such questions offer you a chance to sell yourself. The interviewer wants to know why you chose this particular profession out of the thousands of available ones.
Tip #1: Your answer should show passion.
Tip #2: Your reasons should be out of good intentions.
Sample Answers
I grew up in a family with mental issues. Dad was always depressed, which took him to an early grave. Therefore, I decided to become a counselor to understand mental diseases better and help people go through the same.
Briefly Describe An Instance When You Consoled A Mentally Ill Patient
This question is aimed at testing whether you are compassionate or uncompassionate.
Tip #1: Describe when you consoled an individual with a psychological problem.
Tip #2: Prove that you can support a patient by showing them compassion
Sample Answer
Some time back, I interacted with a patient who was going through depression occasioned by job loss. Seeing his family lack food and other basic needs made him very depressed to seek medical help. After realizing this, I comforted him by making him understand that such happenings were not uncommon. I encouraged and referred him to a construction company where he could work and get daily pay to support his family.
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Why Is Tracking Mental Health Data Important To Your Work And How Do You Do It
There is a link between work pressure and mental health issues, which result in disability, respiratory disorders, heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders, etc. The tracking of mental health is, therefore, a necessity for all workplace cultures these days.
Example: Those struggling with mental illness but unable to afford therapy can use mental health apps that track mental health information. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy are among the proven techniques in these apps that can be used to treat depression, eating disorders, and anxiety.
There Will Be Times When You Will Fail To Perform To The Best Of Your Abilities How Do You Handle Your Workplace Failures
No one can always be successful. There will always be ups and downs in every persons life, with which we have to deal and cope with. Failure has the ability to crush the confidence level of an employee and makes them feel inappropriate or unfit. An employee with such a mindset is usually not able to meet the established benchmarks and delivers a poor performance. Thus, an interviewer is always interested in knowing the various techniques using which you are able to manage your workplace failures.
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As Per Your Resume You Are An Experienced Professional And Have Worked With Several Mental Health Centres How Do You Describe Your Best And Worst Reporting Manager
It is true that employees face several bosses and seniors that not only supervise their work but also evaluate their performances. All these seniors or reporting managers are different and adopt different methods to handle their juniors. This differentiation enables the employees to categorize them into good or bad. Through this question, an interviewer wants to know the reasons or the basis, using which you categorize your reporting managers.
