Advanced Motivational Interviewing - (Fully Accredited)

Thankyou so much for deciding to purchase this course.  Introduction and Overview.  Please remember to keep in touch with any questions you may have.  And at the end of the course, do contact me if you would like one of our accredited company certificates.

Making a start on the course:  in this video we explore a number of key strategies used in Motivational Interviewing.  Some of these skills are repeated later on in the course, but don't worry, familiarity breeds expertise!

Here we look at what is known as the readiness for change ruler and the confidence to change ruler.  Excellent and simple assessment strategies that we use frequently in Motivational Interviewing.

In this video we look at the technique of querying extreme ways of thinking that the client presents.  Extremist thinking is most often very unhelpful and unproductive and we need to help the client understand this and to make more helpful and constructive ways of viewing the issues at hand.

In this video we explore the often used strategy of helping the client explore the past and look forward into the future, to help them make decisions about  change.  Change, and the need for change is often better viewed from the perspective of having had a detailed review of the past (actions and consequences for example) and also future scenarios that may or may not be likely for the client.

Here we explore the technique called decisional balance, which is how we encourage the client to gather all the evidence about the issue at hand and the possibilities for change.  Then we support them in compiling a list of pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages of, for example remaining the same or implementing change.

The therapeutic paradox can be used when we have built up and constructive working relationship with the client over time, and perhaps change is very slow, is not happening, or has moved backwards.  The therapeutic paradox has to be used tactfully and compassionately.  An example might be: Perhaps now is not the time for quitting smoking?  Perhaps you are not quite ready for stopping gambling?  The idea is to help provoke the client (in a compassionate way) to argue the case for change and progress, rather than accepting the paradoxical statement.

Do you remember the TV series based on the fictional detective Columbo?  this fantastic detective used a range of strategies and skills to get at the truth of a situation and to fully understand it.  This strategy is widely used in Motivational Interviewing.

Further, detailed information about the therapeutic paradox, how and when to use it, together with its utility in helping clients explore and hopefully implement change.

Her we explore the tactic of voicing discrepancies, to help raise the awareness in the client of the discrepancies in the information provided.  For example, we might say:  One the one hand you feel that smoking is not presenting any problems for you at the moment, but on the other hand, I hear you describe how the expense of cigarettes means you cannot afford to pay for other things.

This is a classic Columbo Approach, where the fictitious detective used to raise discrepancies with a witness in order to help understand the story they were presenting.

Problems, challenges and discord can arise within the Motivational Interviewing session and wider relationship.  In this video, we begin to explore how and why these challenges can arise and what we as professionals need to do to best handle them appropriately.

Here is a task I recommend you complete.  It is designed to help you (and the partner you are role playing with) understand fully how a certain style of managing sessions with a client can be counter productive and actually prevent constructive progress towards change for the individual.

In this lecture we look at several more general Motivational Interviewing Strategies.  This list is not exhaustive of course, but together with all of the other strategies we discuss on this course, will result in you having developed a very detailed, useful toolkit of techniques and strategies.

A very important skills in Motivational Interviewing is the process of summarising a discussion, a session or a group of sessions for the client.  This helps them to see that we have been actively listening and fully understand the issues as discussed.  Summarising helps the client to feel that their story has been heard and taken seriously.  Finally, summarising helps the client to keep abreast of developments and progress made to date.

Reflective Practice is a very important skills for therapists in general and for Motivational Interviewing Practitioners also.  In this video, we look at a number of questions that are often helpful to reflect upon throughout our professional rpactice.

This is an important strategy to help practitioners identify the change talk within a session.  This is a very important skill, because it is easy to miss change talk within a session, clients can often disguise the intention or motivation for change for various reasons, such as lack of confidence in ability to change.

Really important to keep accurate, detailed notes about progress made in the sessions we have with clients.  We need to spend at least 5-10 minutes at the end of each session to write a summary of things covered.  Then we would look at the sheet in advance of our next session with the client, thus helping us to plan and prepare for each session.

This is a basic requirement of Motivational Interviewing Professionals, requiring them to gather all the referral information and perhaps notes made from the initial session with a client, then putting together a diagram map of important issues and relevant factors in the client's life, relevant to the change they wish to explore.

A non-exhaustive list of the recommended "Do's" in Motivational Interviewing.  Can you make a note of several more Do's that you feel are important?

A non exhaustive list of the "Dont's" in Motivational Interviewing.  Can you compile a list of additional Dont's?

The Wheel of Change is described in this video in order to help practitioners understand the sorts of things that they need to focus on, depending on where along the cycle of change the client is currently at.

In this course video, two experienced professionals engage in a thoughtful two-way conversation exploring the key themes and practical issues related to this topic. The discussion is designed to provide additional insight, reflection, and real-world perspective to support your learning throughout the course.