Using the Counselling Interview To Collect Research Data on Sensitive Topics

Abstract

In interview-based research on sensitive health-related topics, the interview may restimulate painful memories among respondents who may become distressed. It is ethically questionable for researchers to address sensitive issues without being equipped to deal with resultant distress. An effective way of addressing this problem is for interviewers to foster counselling attributes and use counselling skills within research interviews. This fulfils various therapeutic and supportive functions for the interviewees, such as helping them to understand their experiences and engage in cathartic disclosure. It also serves research functions in that it can foster good rapport, encourage interviewees to elaborate their experiences and help establish potential lines of association and causation in the research data. The use of the counselling interview as a data collection tool is illustrated with examples drawn from a study of AIDS-related bereavement among gay men.