As a student I was taught that ambivalence in my clients is bad, and my job was to convince them that they should want to change, for their own good. In this model of a clinician/client relationship, the clinician is responsible for whether or not the patient changes their behavior. From an MI point of […]
Identify Change Talk
An important skill in MI is being able to identify change talk, specifically change talk that indicates commitment, or readiness to change. You can listen carefully for decreased discussion about the problem, questions about change, resolve, taking steps, and a change in the tone of the client’s conversation to a more positive outlook on the […]
Readiness To Change
It can be very difficult to sit with a client who is just not ready to actually change anything about their behavior, even though it puts them at great risk. This is very hard to do when you really care about your clients and their well being. Still, I know it’s not my job to […]
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, […]
My Personal Experience with Being Told What To Do
As I mentioned in last month’s issue, I had knee replacement surgery in September. Both my time in the hospital and as an out patient gave me personal experience with “good” MI and “not-so-good” MI. Of course I don’t know which of my caregivers had MI training, but I can tell you that I liked some of […]
