#35 – The Art of Investigative Interviewing with Dr Kimberlee Burrows

Dr Burrows is a Research Fellow and lecturer at Deakin University, and a Research Fellow at the Centre For Investigative Interviewing.  Dr Burrows has a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and Psychology (Hons) and a background in law and child protection.  In 2014 she was awarded her PhD for her thesis entitled Improving the Evidential Quality of Child Witness Interviews about Abuse.

Dr Burrows research role involves working closely with police and legal professionals in Australia and overseas to both (a) incorporate legal requirements into child witness investigative interviewing protocol,and (b) provide legal professionals with professional development around principles of child development and trauma so as to minimise systemic abuse of child witnesses and maximise the quality of their evidence.

In addition to her research, Dr Burrows currently chairs the undergraduate unit Child & Adolescent Development (currently undertaken by approximately 1100 students) and teaches across a variety of Psychology undergraduate units including Psychology in the Criminal Justice System and Individual and Social Development.

Dr Burrows opened my eyes to the complexity of investigative interviewing, and her passion and energy for researching, developing and supporting the implementation of best practice in legal systems around the world is inspiring. And a quick note – everything Dr Burrows has said in this interview is based on her own views and not representative of Deakin University.

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Kimberlee's Self-care Tip

  • Knowing myself well enough to know where I want to put my priorities, and being comfortable with the decisions I've made. For example right now I work 3 days and have 2 days at home with my daughter.  When I'm at home, work is not my priority so I won't think about it then.
  • Allocating worry time is helpful.  When I drive home from work I have worry time.  This helps me be strict and committed to my priorities.

Your Comments

  • Leave me or Kimberlee a comment or some feedback about this episode. I’ll respond to everyone!

Sponsored Episode

This episode was sponsored by the ANZ ACBS 2016 Conference.  If you’re interested in Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion and Mindfulness check out there website for further details!

Amy Felman

1 Comment

  1. Sarah Stokely on October 4, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    Hi Amy and Kimberlee,
    Thanks for another great interview! Can you please remind me of the name of court support role which was mentioned in the interview? I thought that might be a role worth looking out for.
    I’m working in resi care at the moment and love the kids (sorry, young people!) and would love to do what Kim did and move into a therapeutic role in the same setting. 🙂 It was working with this cohort that made me realise I could potentially work in juvenile justice as there’d sadly be a lot of overlap.
    Cheers!
    Sarah

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