Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative short-term goal-oriented style of communication that support clients is resolving ambivalent feelings and insecurities to work towards behavioral change. With the specific goal of eliciting and exploring a person’s reasons for change, MI is designed to strengthen motivations and commitment to identified goals.
MI can help with:
- Addiction
- Anger management
- Motivation
- Physical health conditions
- Resistance to change
As a way of communicating more than a specific intervention or treatment approach, MI requires that the clinician engage with the client as an equal partner. MI is not a way to force people to change but instead focuses a clinician’s attention on listening to the client without providing unsolicited advice, confrontations, instruction, or warnings.
Through MI, you will be able to build a therapeutic relationship that is based on respect and curiosity and feel empowered to change meaningful areas in your life.
Core elements of MI:
- Acceptance
- Attending to the language of change
- Compassion
- Exchange of information
- OARS
- Open questions
- Affirmation
- Reflection
- Summarizing
Motivational interviewing believes that through capitalizing on the “flow” of conversations we can better engage, focus, evoke, and plan change.
If you or someone you know has a specific goal they would like to work towards or is having difficultly initiating change in their life and you think would benefit from therapy, please contact me today and we can begin to developing strategies together.