High levels of empathy are key to the MI guiding style. Empathy has been misunderstood as the expression or demonstration of kindness, agreement, acceptance, or concern for the patient. It is more than that. Empathy is not sympathy, ”poor you”, nor is it “I’ve had the same problem”. In Motivational Interviewing, empathy is simply the demonstration of a keen but neutral curiosity for […]
Managing Patient “Resistance” with MI
If your work involves helping people change their behavior, you have probably encountered a “resistant” client. I put the word in quotes because it implies there is something wrong with them. They are resisting something they should want to change and it’s so very clear to you that it’s true. In Motivational Interviewing, we assume […]
[Guest Blog] “It Worked Before…” by Aaron Flores, RDN
It’s something I hear all the time as people come into my office or talk to me about losing weight. They say, “Well I just need to go back to what I was doing a couple of years ago, it worked before…” There are, of course variations on the theme. Maybe someone will say, “I […]
What If You Ask for Permission and Don’t Get It?
In MI training, we emphasize asking permission, before you offer unasked for advice or change the subject. The obvious question, then is what happens if the client’s answer is NO? Here’s an opportunity to make a real connection with the client. A simple response is “Thank you, I really appreciate your honesty with me.” This […]
My Lunch with “The Girls”
This week I had the pleasure of having lunch and a reunion with 5 friends from high school. To give you an idea of our age, we graduated in 1966. We were eating in a relatively new restaurant several of us wanted to try. The owner is the son of a friend of one of […]
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