Author Archives: Eunice Okumu

This has been a great conversation on building confidence with our clients and numerous approaches have been discussed. And one experience clients can have is feeling like they are “failing” in their attempts to change and they can get very discouraged. One strategy to work with clients who feel this...

Reflections can be extremely simple or very complex. At times, just repeating back to the client what they just shared can keep the conversation moving forward. The example below illustrates how the clinician repeats back to the client almost exactly what was said: Client: I’m feeling very anxious today. Clinician:...

In the last few blogs, we have talked about how the more change talk expressed by the client in a session, results in more desired change in their life. And in a skillful MI session, the sustain talk does not go away, but it becomes less frequent. There are some...

As we have been exploring, there are numerous signs that a client may be ready to make a change in their lives. We know that most clients will have some ambivalence about a possible change. It may be because they want to keep things the way that they are, the...

There may be many thoughts that come to mind when we think about the importance of speaking one’s own motivation for change; perhaps words such as ownership, commitment, accountability, and support come up for us. And our actual role as practitioners is to try to guide or facilitate the client...

In the last few blogs, we have been discussing the balance between change talk and sustain talk and how a skillful clinician can find the change talk to focus on. However, in the case where the client is offering “dubious” change talk, where it does not appear that they really...

When a client begins to lean towards making a change, they may also begin to take a small step in that direction. It may be a “baby step” but it is still a step towards change. It is important to acknowledge any movement towards change in a positive way to...

There are many indications that a client may be ready to make a change. We have been discussing signs and language that tell us a client is leaning in that direction. Another statement we may hear from a client is when they are thinking about what it may look and...

When we have a sense that a client may be ready to transition from evoking to planning, what language do we want to hear that indicates this readiness? In most cases, it is language that describes their desire, ability, reasons, and need to change.  The more that we hear this...

There are many ways to create a change plan and it is exciting when a client is very motivated to make this happen. However, it is also important to make sure the plan is reasonable and there are possible sub-goals along the way. We discussed this in an earlier blog...

Another way we can strengthen commitment in planning is to simply trust the process of the tasks of MI. The tasks of MI provide an excellent structure for a session, and it naturally allows for change talk to be reinforced and guides the client towards their goals. In particular, the...

We are all familiar with the collaborative approach MI offers to the clinician and client. This approach helps to “level the playing field” and reduces hierarchy in the relationship. In addition, working collaboratively can build trust and rapport. The key is to make sure the client feels the support and...