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Having a Real Choice in What You Eat

In my last post, I wrote about the idea that volition, or the desire for change in behavior is only a part of the process of change.  There are other obstacles people face in this process.  For example, in changing one’s food habits, one such obstacle is

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Motivation to Change Habits May Not Be Enough

I learned many interesting ideas about MI at the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) conference I attended in September.  Dr. Bill Miller, one of the founders of MI gave a keynote address on MI and Social Justice. In this talk he spoke of volition, as defined

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Most of Us Don’t Really Like Change

When the topic of change comes up in conversations with others (clients of mine or not), I often hear “Oh, I really hate change!”  People seem to think they hate change more than others, or have a “corner on the market” in disliking change and preferring the

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Are we being “too lenient” when we use MI?

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Powerful, Skillful Communication Skills

This summer my daughter Amy and her 2 children, Tiago who is 8 years old and Francesca who is 7 visited for three weeks. I observed my daughter parenting her kids, and admire her as a mother.  She emphasizes communication, both hers and the children back to

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Does Using Reflections Sound Awkward to You?

When people are learning the basic skills of MI, they often ask “Doesn’t using reflections just sound like I’m repeating what they just said?”  They feel it sounds awkward, and that the other person would just ask why they are repeating. The answer is that with increased

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Finding Satisfaction with Food is a Metaphor for How We Live

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Accepting Our Patient’s Decisions About Changing

How can we accept our patient/client’s decisions not to change behavior when we think those changes are crucial? A very important idea in MI is that we must accept our client’s decisions about if, when and how they will change.  This might include not making any changes,

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How People Make Decisions about Change

How can we understand when patients or clients don’t change a behavior that we think is critical for them to change?   For example, the person whose diabetes is out of control, the smoker who has emphysema, the person with high blood pressure who won’t take their medication.

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Finding Perfection in Food: A Metaphor for our Anxieties

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Latest Posts

Where’s Dr. Ellen?


May 17, Workshop on MI at West Virginia Obesity Conference, Charleston, WV

May 19: MI Workshop for Patients, Gaucher Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA

May 30, June 12: MI Workshop for Cambridge Health Alliance, Malden, MA

July 6 and 7: Advanced MI Workshop, Medical Care Development, Augusta, ME



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Waltham, MA USA 02451
Phone: (781) 890-1618