It can be very frustrating working with a client who is “resistant” to change. That means that the other person doesn’t want or is unable to make the behavior change you think they should. It can feel like you have to try to convince them to change. You might want to talk about all the […]
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 […]
“Educating” Our Clients
“You know that I don’t believe that anyone has ever taught anything to anyone. The only thing that I know is that anyone who wants to learn will learn. And maybe a teacher is a facilitator, a person who puts things down and shows people how exciting and wonderful it is” ― Carl R. Rogers The […]
The “Righting Reflex” in Motivational Interviewing
As health care providers we sometimes (or maybe often) feel a strong urge to tell our clients what to do. After all, we have been trained to know what would be best for our clients. We’ve worked hard to learn our craft, and have strong feelings about what behaviors clients should change. We want them to feel this […]
Double-Sided Reflection
A double-sided reflection is a great way of expressing ambivalence to your client. It’s a short summary of both sides of the ambivalence. It’s basically “You feel two ways about this. On one hand you feel__________and on the other hand you feel____________”. Using the example in the article in this newsletter, you might say to ES, “On […]
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