Motivational Interviewing Paper

The motivational interviewing video provided discusses a client discussing a plan and consolidating commitment with a client. One topic related to that is envisioning. This may look like resistance, but it suggests not directly that the individual is thinking forward to what life would be like if they did make a change. The most common type of envisioning is for the client to see the problems with changing. Another form of envision would be positive envision. The therapist may also ask hypothetical questions such as, “Let’s picture what it would be like if you stopped smoking.”
A therapist shouldn’t assume ambivalence is over at this point, and he or she shouldn’t jump to a simple solution. It is important to involve the client actively in
deciding what they are going to be doing, and setting priorities. In order to work with a client during their transition from phase one of discussion of problems, to phase two of coming up with solutions, the therapist should make a summary reflection. This includes reviewing the person’s concerns, reluctance, reasons for change, and other motivational statements, and summarizing them all in one statement. This then leads to the therapist asking the client a key question, or an open question. For example, “Now what?” or “Where do we go from here?” This kind of question helps the therapist avoid falling into the trap of providing a solution to the client. Active listening is then followed by the key question, and after a while this may actively engage the client. This gently pushes the client into the process of negotiating a plan for change.