Category: MI Process: Evoking

When a client is contemplating making a change, there is almost always going to be some ambivalence between changing and doing things the same way. There will be the benefits of changing (pros) and the negatives of changing (cons). Sustain talk is when the client wants to keep things the...

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...

If you remember from the last blog, an approach was discussed where the clinician provides a summary of all the change talk the client has expressed. The clinician shares back with the client all the motivations they have verbalized. Then, the clinician asks the key question to the client about...

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...