After the Visit: Debriefing Questions
After a parent has a child visit, it is a good idea to “debrief” with him or her, to understand how the visit went, identify and address any problems, and make some initial plans for how to improve the situation for next time. Below are a set of questions that can be asked to help a parent think through a visit afterwards.
Tell me about one or two things you did well during the visit.
What is an example of a time during the visit when you did a good job being open to your child’s feelings or met your child’s needs? How did this feel?
What was a time when it was hard for you to meet your child’s needs or be open to his or her feelings?
How did you feel when you had trouble meeting your child’s needs or being open to his or her feelings? How did you behave?
Is there anything that got in the way of you putting your feelings aside during the visit?
What could you do between now and your next visit to work on this? What could I [counselor/caseworker] do to help?
