Motivational Interviewing: Boosting The Will Power Of Individuals What is Motivational Interviewing? Motivational interviewing is a counseling approach developed in by two psychologists named William R Miller and Stephen Rollnick. Motivational interviewing is client-centered where doctors work to resolve the ambivalent feelings and insecurities so that the patient can find his intrinsic motivation to change his behavior. Making changes is often a difficult task for people; the purpose of motivational interviewing is encouraging people do that.
It is simply a skill of evoking people into making those necessary changes they need to make towards a healthier lifestyle. When is Motivational Interviewing used? Motivational interviewing is a part of psychotherapy which is practiced to treat people dealing with addictions which include unhealthy substance abuse to change these habits and lead them towards a healthier lifestyle. Lack of motivation is a major hurdle in life. It keeps the victims from living a healthy lifestyle, achieving their goals, and dealing with life on a daily basis. The purpose of motivational interviewing is to motivate the victims into living better lives and awakening their own will power to do the same.
Generally, a doctor or expert advise, whereas a motivational interviewer will encourage the person to make the change. People who fall in the traps of addiction want to get rid of those bad habits but often are unwilling to do it, Motivational Interviewing puts it all in a bigger perspective for the clients and awakens their true power hidden inside. Skills to practice with motivational interviewing:
* Expressing Empathy: This is one of the key skills for motivational interviewing. It is required to understand the unwillingness to change. When experts interact, they should say “I understand why the use of drugs seems appealing to you” instead of instructing him to stop that right away. In these situations, often patient’s statements are ambivalent, empathy will help in understanding how what the clients says is contrary to the way they feel.
* Ask open questions: The interview should be person-focused and has to be all about the patient. Open questioning is a way to invite others to tell their story. Asking open questions where they get the opportunity to think openly can give more insights rather than leaving them to the closed questions that limits the possibilities of answers to ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
* Giving Affirmations: While interviewing, clients barely talk about their own achievements, so it is an expert’s task to remind them of the same. Assuring them that they have come a long way, that they do have a desire to change if they push a little, will keep boosting them into working towards making the change.
* Reflective listening:
As the clients speak their thoughts, understand the feeling behind it and reflect the same, it will have more impact. Reflect back the positive affirmations clients try to give themselves. For example, if a patient says ‘I watch TV while having junk food at night and I want to stop doing that’ rephrase that saying that ‘You eat junk while watching TV at night and you would like to change it;’ it will hold a place in their subconscious mind that they are willing to do it.
* Summarizing: Making notes of what clients say is called summarizing, rephrasing summaries can help clients understand better. It is a lot like reflective listening but has its own importance. Summarizing what the clients have specified builds trust in the client that the therapist is genuinely interested in solving their case and making life better for them.
* Invoke intrinsic motivation: Every person has it all in themselves, the motivational interviewer’s job is to trigger it and wake that inbuilt motivation that drives them. By resolving the issues in the clients thought process, filtering their negative thought patterns with positive affirmations, and awakening their zest towards a better life helps the client feel and believe in the possibilities.
* Roll With Resistance: In motivational interviewing, some resistance and reluctance can be expected from the clients’ side. The fact that they have fallen in addiction is directly linked with the reason they have chosen to do so. They must be sensitive enough and may find it hard to open up which is why they turned themselves to drug abuse; it’s essential to develop the level of empathy for therapists where they study the client’s perspective and condition on a broader spectrum.
* Avoid argumentation: Things can get worse if you counter question or argue with the client while he is opening up. Being a good listener is essential. The clients should feel the liberty to talk about anything and everything in the therapy sessions. Not letting them feel confronted, being open and let it all in without arguing could be the best thing therapists can do to their clients.
* Develop discrepancy: It is the therapists’ job to have the client recognize the disparity between their actions and their goals. The client may want to excel in his career, but the consumption of drugs cannot make it possible. So the therapist has to let the clients know and help them see clearly that by what they are doing today they will not reach where they want to reach down the line.
Summary: Although motivational interviewing encourages the victims of addiction to have a better life, it solely depends on a person’s own willingness and choice to do the same. The desire to quit the substance addictions should come from the inside of a person. However, clinical therapists
or addiction counselorsare trained in what they do and are sensitive enough to understand the client’s vulnerabilities.