Motivational Interviewing

• A directive, client centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence.

• Designed to produce rapid, internally motivated change by mobilizing the client’s own change resources.

Miller and Rollnick, 1991

Problems with Standard Practice

• Unwelcome advice elicits resistance• Advice must match motivation• Client knowledge of facts is weakly correlated

with behavior• Only 5% to 10% of the variance in change

behavior due to knowledge• Variability in personal motivation

Motivational Interviewing:

• Client determines treatment plan• Avoid unsolicited advice

• Involves the best basic counseling skills• Express empathy• Use good nonverbal listening skills• Problem solving partners

Motivational Interviewing:

• Righting Reflex• Tendency to set the person on the right path• Offering single alternatives may yield a “yes, but” response• Pulls for psychological reactance

• (Reactance theory of Jack & Sharon Brehm of KU)

• Important to inhibit your righting reflex

Common Traps to Avoid

• Question-Answer trap• Confrontation-Denial trap (Mother of all traps)• Expert trap• Labeling trap• Premature focus trap• Blaming trap

OARS

• Open ended questions• Affirmations: comment on strengths,

effort, intention• Reflective listening• Summaries: pulling together the person’s

perspectives on change

Go from questions to reflections

• You...• It’s as if...• Sounds like...• Attend to VOICE inflection at end of

statement, to turn it into a reflection.• A question demands an answer.• A reflection invites a response.

Ratio of Reflections to Questions

• When done well, the ratio is 2 reflections to every question

• Beginners are usually 2 questions for every reflection

• Shoot for 1-1 as a starting point

Affirmations

• End up being the least often used of the OARS

--Not that they SHOULD be, just that they are.

Motivational Interviewing• Get permission to proceed• Open ended (starting) questions (to get the ball rolling)• Reflective listening (keep it rolling)• Summarizing (stop, assess, move on)• Elicit self-motivational statements• Menus vs. Single solutions• You provide info., client interprets it

Getting Permission

When Getting Started“I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about…

your smokingyour medicationyour alcohol use

“Is that ok with you?”

Change the Closed Ended Questions to Open Ended Questions

ADHERENCE/HEALTH BEHAVIORSSo are you taking your medication everyday?You’re not experiencing any side effects are you?Do you have any questions about your new medicine?

Should I call you on Monday? How about 9:00 am.?

You still doing drugs?Are you still doing drugs because you are too stressed at work to stop?

Open ended ?s: More Practice

• Are you pleased with the new medicine Dr. Jones gave you last time?

• Does your child like the teachers and kids at his new school?

• Do you have any major fears about your upcoming operation?

• Is everything ok with your leg?

Open ended Starters

“I see from your chart that…You are drinking around 4 drinks a dayYour blood sugar is a bit high

“How do you think this affects your health?”

“What do you make of this…?”

“Tell me about your…”

Open ended Starters

Open VSTo what extent…How often…Why…Tell me about…Help me understand…

ClosedDid you…?Will you…?Can you…?Is it…?

Reflective Listening

• Statement, not a question• Ends with a down turn• Hypothesis testing

• If I understand you correctly, it sounds like…

• Affirms and validates• Keeps the client thinking and talking

Universal Safe Reflections

• It sounds like this has been tough for you…• It sounds like you are not happy with…• It sounds like you are a bit uncomfortable

about…• It sounds like you’re not ready to…• It sounds like you are having a problem

with…

Reflective Listening

Restating Responding to Content“It sounds like…..”

Responding to Affect“You feel….”

Rephrasing

Paraphrasing

Deducing Responding to Meaning“You feel….BECAUSE”

Summarizing

Let me see if I understand what you’ve told me so far…

Ok, this is what I have heard so far…

Follow up withOk, how did I do?What have I missed?Anything you want to correct?

Summarizing

If there is client ambivalence about the issue summarize both the pros and cons

So, it sounds like you have several reasons why you want to (quit, start, increase) but on the other hand there are things you like about (smoking, cocaine) that you aren’t sure if you want to give up or things you are worried about experiencing if you stop (smoking, cocaine).

Review

• See Change Talk in DARN-C• Pull for Change Talk using OARS• Up the Change Talk ante with

evocative questionselaborationextremeslooking backlooking forwardexplore goalsassessment feedbackreadiness rulers

Developing Discrepancy

• No discrepancy, no motivation

• Example 1- Weight Loss– So, according to your weight today, you gained a few

pounds. What do you make of this?– According to your food record, you ate at McDonalds twice

this past week. What do you think you should do about this?

Developing Discrepancy

• Example 2- Addictive Behavior– You mentioned that your motivation to quit

smoking is a 10 and your confidence is a 9. Yet, you haven’t quit yet. What do you make of this?

Eliciting SMS

STAGE 2: Building on the positivesMethod 1) What would it take…So, you are…(somewhat) interested in quitting…could

you tell me what it would take to make you very interested?

You answered “somewhat confident” rather than very “confident”, could you tell me what it would take to make you feel very confident in your ability to quit?

Variation: What can I (or we) do to help you move up to a 9 or 10?

Eliciting SMS

Stage 1: Diagnosis Strategy 2

Good things and not so good things/Pros and Cons

Could you tell me some of the things you enjoy about…Could you tell me some of the reasons why you might want to change your …Could you tell me some of the things you don’t like about…Could you tell me some of the reasons why you may not want to change….

(fears, barriers)How might your life be different if you …(lost weight)What benefits, if any, might there be if you…How, if at all, does smoking affect your job?What are some of the negative things about continuing your smoking?

Working with Ambivalence

• Evocative questions• Find and reinforce Change Talk (pick flowers)• Summarize (bouquets)• Explore values– develop discrepancy between ideal and current– What do you need to do to live out these values

better?

MENU

Here are some of things that have worked for other people

1.) Amazing strategy 12.) Amazing strategy 23.) Amazing strategy 3

Which of these do you think might work best for you?

Which of thee might you be willing to try?

MENU (Prioritizing)

Controlling your weight may involve several behavior changes including:

1.) eating less2.) eating more fruits and vegetables3.) eating smaller portions4.) eating fewer desserts5.) exercising more

Which of these would you like to work on first?Which of these do you think are more important to

deal with?