Accurate feedback makes a big difference in helping officers develop competency in many different areas. Officers and Case Managers interested in developing deeper competency in client assessment, Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Cognitive Coaching derive significant benefits from receiving detailed and graphic feedback reports on their recorded session for specific skills, unique to each of the above contexts.
Assessment Coding
In assessment interview critiquing, our coders are trained in scoring a myriad of assessment tools (e.g., YLS/CMI; LSI-R; RRC; LS/CMI; COMPAS; ASI; etc.). In the first pass coders meticulously code all the interviewer’s utterances in the form of skill counts and also code for demeanor in the form of global ratings (warmth, egalitarianism, empathy, etc.) global ratings. In the next pass coders typically identify scoring disagreements and insufficiently probed items (IPI’s) along with rate how the interview was structured on a variety of pre-established dimensions (pre-interview case review, role clarification, structuring statement, summaries and segues between domains, social support mapping, etc.). The entirety of the above review is packaged into a succinct 4-page report that outlines summary measures such as # of scoring disagreements and IPI’s, active listening balance (0-100%) and a set of Likert ratings on a 12 dimensions addressing how the interview was structured (the Base-Assessment Structural Evaluation). In addition, constructive comments and more detailed and specific performance information is provided. This includes % open versus closed questions, longest string of consecutive questions, % reflections that were complex versus simple, etc.
J-SAT assessment coding will set your agency apart from others, as our years of experience has allowed us to generate a critiquing system that supports staff developing the necessary skills to become master interviewers. We also offer follow-up coaching which supports the integration and skill practice of the comprehensive feedback generated from a critique.
We offer free samples to agencies interested in our coding & services.
Motivational Interviewing Coding
In Motivational Interviewing critiquing, our coders are trained in both the MITI-4.2 system for coding MI as well as the STICS system for identifying the content (criminogenic needs, T&C’s, Other) of the conversation, and, in particular, the content of the change talk elicited in the conversation. Each practitioner who submits a recorded session receives a comprehensive feedback report with over 20 different relevant measures that serve as a needs assessment for skill development and performance enhancement in MI. In addition to providing the MITI-4.2 summary we also include measures that have proven useful (in the past 20 years we have been coding, with different systems) feedback such as active listening skill balance, 3 Q’s in a row violation, and management of the 4 MI processes.
While our reports provide robust feedback to practitioners, we strongly recommend that interviewers receiving feedback report (Skill-Builders-II) follow-up with subsequent coaching sessions which are also provided by J-SAT.
More about MITI-4.2
The MITI-4.2 rating system is simultaneously simpler and more stringent than the previous MITI-3.3. The former emphasizes relational skills more than the latter. We find that MITI-4.2 best captures the strategic elements of “great” MI, and provides useful feedback for all levels of skill. In order to successfully code using the MITI-4.2, it is paramount that the interviewer identify what the session’s primary ‘change target’ (e.g., reducing anger, increasing pro-sober support, etc.)
We offer free samples to agencies interested in our coding & services.
Management Coaching Coding
A third type of competency area for which we critique recorded sessions is cognitive coaching. Our coders are trained in the fundamentals of skill rehearsal cognitive coaching and we have created a unique performance assessment and set of measures to use when rating these tapes. Cognitive coaching of course can take place between a line staff and a client, or between a manager and a direct report. Regardless of the latter differences in contexts, we find the same model for coaching applies. Our model draws heavily upon role clarification possibilities for aligning the dialogue and skill practice. Also included in the model are identification of pressure points or segues in the discussion based on the 4-processes of MI and the questions developed by Michael Stanier in his best-seller book “The Coaching Habit” or his website ‘Box of Crayons’.
While our reports provide robust feedback to practitioners, we strongly recommend that practitioners receiving recorded session feedback (Coaching / Assessment reports) receive subsequent coaching via zoom.us teleconference.
We offer free samples to agencies interested in our coding & services.