Category: Motivational Interviewing Blog

When we think about all the things that are going on with our clients, it is often easy to understand why they may come into a session and feel threatened or vulnerable. At the same time, it may not always be the client that is feeling vulnerable or stressed. It...

When motivational interviewing was initially introduced, it was a way to support clients who perhaps didn’t recognize the importance of changing a behavior. For example, in the case of problem drinking the clinician was oftentimes more aware of the importance. Another situation where MI can be helpful is the situation...

When there is change talk being expressed by the client, and we, as clinicians, reflect this back to the client, what often comes next is more change talk. And the more we reflect change talk, the more we will receive it. If the client is speaking about change and there...

Summaries are the last of the 4 core Motivational Interviewing skills. Summaries are pulling together several things the client has told you and offering it back to them. In the early processes of MI, summaries provide an opportunity for the client to know that you have been listening carefully and...

If you feel like a client is ready to move from evoking to planning, the best approach is to ask. We have talked about several ways to get to this point, and then it is time to see where the client would like to go. You will likely have a...

As we move into the last of the four basic MI processes, we will be focusing on the language and the creation of a personalized change plan. There are numerous frameworks for how change plans are created but the key is for it to be developed with primary input from...

When we think about “good listening” there are many aspects that come to mind. And behind this practice is a belief and trust that it can be beneficial for clients to explore their own experiences, perceptions, and motivations. By being in the presence of a “good listener” and having the...

In this blog series, we have been discussing the movement from evoking to planning. We have looked at numerous approaches to facilitate the client exploring possible change. Hopefully, there are some good discussions about where the client is at in the moment, and where they would like to be in...

In previous blog posts, we have explored change talk and discussed several strategies to elicit and listen for the client’s own motivations for change. Some of the most common ways clinicians listen for change talk is when a client talks about or mentions: Desire: “I would like to lose some...

When we think about what is the most effective way for us, as practitioners, to respond to a client as they attempt to explore making a change, many initial thoughts and ideas may emerge. What we do know is that before a person speaks, they have a particular message or...

After a client and clinician have been exploring a topic, the clinician decides when the appropriate time is to offer a summary.  In counseling, there is very little guidance in terms of what should go into a summary, and what should be left out. The clinician must make the decision...

Equipoise has been around for a long time. It has most commonly been practiced in the field of medicine where the clinician allows the client to make their own decision. The decision could be related to a particular treatment for cancer or a medication to take for high blood pressure....