The Affect-Responsive Interview and In-Depth Interviewing: What We Can Learn From Therapy Research

Abstract

Qualitative researchers who conduct in-depth interviews about sensitive topics can often find themselves in an interaction that mimics psychotherapy in some ways. Many researchers, however, are not prepared to navigate such an interaction. In this article, I examine in-depth interviewing and introduce the notion of the affect-responsive interview. Specifically, I explore the various conceptions of in-depth interviewing, interrogate the relationship the interview can create, and examine the ethics of in-depth interviewing. Through examining literature on therapy efficacy and training, I introduce the affect-responsive interview and offer implications for the ways in which we prepare future qualitative researchers.