- Gain an understanding of what Motivational Interviewing (MI) is.
- Understand how MI can be used in medical practice to improve health treatment adherence + bring about health behavioral change.
- Identify the basic MI skills by observing it’s application in video clip demonstrations.
What is Motivational interviewing?
This is really a learned skill that is most effective for helping someone assess where they are now and where they want to be in terms of their current health behaviours.
Motivational interviewing is a collaborative goal oriented style of communication with particular attention to the language of change. It is designed to strengthen personal motivation for and commitment be eliciting and exploring the persons own reasons to change within and atmosphere of acceptance and compassion.
I understand motivational interviewing as helping the patient attempt to explore reasons why they want to quit and resolving possible mental contradictions. People will only change if they want to and it is helping elucidate if and why the patient wants to change.
Essentially:
- Making patient think about it
- highlight mental contradiction
- Explore their views
- Support them and make them feel not judged during all of this
READS framework
This is a framework with some important skills that are part of the motivational interviewing philosophy
Roll with resistance
Resistance often stems from fear of change. This is acknowledging resistance to an idea or change and redirecting. Discomfort is not refusal but it can easily become so.
Express Empathy
Behaviour change is only possible when the patient feels accepted and valued. They need to feel understood and seen.
Avoid argumentation
Argumentation leads to extra resistance. If you feel like talking further about a point will create unnecessary resistance you might need to drop it.
Develop discrepancy
This is a key skill and it is working with the patient to show the distance of where they are now and where they want to be.
Support Self-Efficacy
This is encouraging the patient that they are actually capable of making a change
How can it be used?
The motivational interviewing framework is especially useful for helping the patient realise health behaviour change as well as self assessing adherence