Motivational Interviewing Strategies

Motivational interviewing is a technique used in such professional settings as correctional institutions and rehabilitation centers to facilitate change in people. The technique is client-centered; the focus, according to casaa.unm.edu, is to "explore and work through ambivalence." The technique is aimed at rehabilitating repeat offenders, habitual drinkers and drug addicts.

Getting the Client to Open Up

• As mentioned earlier, motivation interviewing is client-orientated; this means that it is up to the client to discover and voice his or her ambivalence and to work to resolve it. One of the preliminary strategies, therefore, is to get the client to open up. Practitioners accomplish this through a strategy known as "asking permission." Here, the interviewer seeks to show his or her respect for the client and the client's problems and to put the client in a relaxed state so that the client will discuss change.

  According to nova.edu, you should start by asking such questions as "Do you mind if we talk about [blank]?" You can also guide the conversation using a patient's medical history. According to nova.edu, you can show respect for your client and elicit "change talk" (whereby the client begins to speak about his or her issues) by saying "I noticed on your medical history that you have [blank]. Do you mind if we talk about how different lifestyles affect [blank]?"

Use of Open-Ended Questions

• Another motivational interviewing technique is to use open-ended questions. The theory is that open-ended questions lead to a more meaningful conversation between the therapist and the client. The questions make the interview feel more like a conversation and less like an interrogation.

  Nova.edu provides various examples of open ended questions. These include asking what the client liked or did not like about his or her behavior, asking what is new or what has changed with the client since the last meeting, and asking the client to describe what happens when he or she engages in the negative behavior.

Developing a Motivational Interviewing Strategy

• Regardless of the strategy you use, it is important that your strategy take on various styles characteristic of motivational interviewing. An effective therapist seeks to empathize with his client; a way to accomplish this is reflective listening. Furthermore, your strategy should reinforce your client's own breakthroughs in recognizing that he or she has a problem, expressing anxiety over the problem and describing a desire to change.