One of the challenging things about learning Motivational Interviewing can be using the spirit and techniques when you have a limited amount of time with a client. I often hear how MI “won’t work in my setting because our visits are short. We have to just tell them what to do.” Examples are an emergency […]
Giving Advice in Motivational Interviewing
Learning how to give advice in a Motivational Interviewing consistent way can be one of the hardest things to learn. Many of us are trained to give advice and ask questions, two things we do very sparingly in MI. At first it seems like these are easiest, and they may be, but they are among […]
The Style and Spirit of Motivational Interviewing
When we use MI, we are adopting a certain style, which is the opposite of the “just-tell-them-what-to-do”, top down, medical approach. The style is warm and friendly, but that’s just the beginning. First and foremost, this style is collaborative, where the power and control in the relationship is shared. We work together with the client in partnership, […]
Ambivalence in Practice
I was talking recently with my friend Rebecca about her smoking and her feeling guilty about it. She is an intelligent, accomplished and mature woman, who manages her life very well in most areas except this one. She asked me why she can’t “just quit”, as she feels frustrated and guilty about smoking. What a […]
Using a Mindful Approach with Your Clients
Listening skills are among the most important skills in Motivational Interviewing. In workshops and one-to-one coaching to improve MI skills, we emphasize really listening, not just to the words the client uses in conversation, but the meaning behind the words. We think of this as a “highly refined” form of listening. In order to listen […]
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