We continue this week with the third “process” of Motivational Interviewing, Evoking. In our last post, we talked about the client strengthening their motivation for change. This change for the individual could be related to desire, ability, reasons, or need.
The practice for the counselor is to not only recognize the “change talk” but also to know how to respond to it when it occurs. If this is done skillfully, you will often hear the counselor respond with a Reflection followed by an Open-ended question (part of the communication skills of OARS).
Examples of ways to respond to “change talk” are below:
What we, as practitioners, may also hear is “sustain talk” or language from the client indicating that they want to maintain the “status quo” and are less interested and/or confident in changing their behavior.
Here are examples of ways to respond to “sustain talk”:
The skill of listening for “change talk” and “sustain talk” can be challenging, but practicing can lead the client in the direction of strengthening their motivation, and eventually to “real” and “sustainable” change.
Charts provided by Cathy Cole Training, Inc.
For more information about motivational interviewing resources, contact Eunice Akinyi Okumu, by phone (919) 843-2532, or by email, eunice_okumu@med.unc.edu