{"id":17756,"date":"2025-11-11T15:01:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2016\/03\/core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-affirmations\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T16:20:37","slug":"core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-affirmations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2025\/11\/core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-affirmations\/","title":{"rendered":"Affirmations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Affirmations<\/strong> are used when we acknowledge and recognize an individual\u2019s strengths and effort; where the statements we say to a client matter to them and are genuine. Affirmations are not praise like \u201cgood job\u201d but rather, they are very specific about how a client has perhaps persevered, or prioritized making a healthy choice, or where the client was very honest about their thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n

The most effective affirmations usually begin with the word \u201cyou\u201d vs. \u201cI.\u201d So, it might sound like, \u201cYou have really been able to commit to and prioritize attending AA meetings,\u201d vs. \u201cI am proud of you for attending AA meetings. The reason is because when we start with or use the word \u201cI\u201d for an affirmation, the focus is more on \u201cus\u201d than \u201cthem\u201d and it implies that we are in a position of determining praise or blame.<\/p>\n

Other examples of affirmations could be:<\/p>\n

\u201dYou have really given a lot of thought and consideration to this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

or<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds like it was challenging but you dedicated yourself to getting your GED.\u201d<\/p>\n

or<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have been prioritizing your family and making decisions that really support you and them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The focus, again, comes back to the client and listening to affirm what is \u201cright\u201d with them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more information about Motivational Interviewing resources, contact Eunice Akinyi Okumu, by phone (919) 843-2532, or by email, eunice_okumu@med.unc.edu<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Affirmations are used when we acknowledge and recognize an individual\u2019s strengths and effort; where the statements we say to a client matter to them and are genuine. Affirmations are not praise like \u201cgood job\u201d but rather, they are very specific about how a client has perhaps persevered, or prioritized making a healthy choice, or where … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103351,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[365,333,310],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-core-motivational-interviewing-skills","category-mi-core-skills","category-motivational-interviewing-blog","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAffirmations - UNC Center for AIDS Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2025\/11\/core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-affirmations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Affirmations - UNC Center for AIDS Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Affirmations are used when we acknowledge and recognize an individual\u2019s strengths and effort; where the statements we say to a client matter to them and are genuine. 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