Language and connectedness in the medical and psychiatric interview.

Patient Educ Couns · 2007

other · Level V

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To present and develop "connectedness" as a linguistically based concept for research and teaching of the medical and psychiatric interview; and to illustrate how this concept may be operationalized for systematic study and use. METHODS: We describe the concept and its theoretical background, illustrate it with examples, and describe a basic rating scale for connectedness that can be used for research and teaching purposes. RESULTS: Connectedness is grounded in established concepts from the linguistic field of discourse analysis and is applicable to the study and teaching of medical and psychiatric interviews. CONCLUSIONS: Connectedness is worthy of further study to enhance our understanding and our teaching of the interview. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Connectedness is a concept directly applicable to teaching and practice.