Motivational Interviewing for Mental Health Clinicians: A Toolkit for Skills Enhancement

by Jennifer Frey, Ali Hall

Overview

Conversations about change can be challenging. In this motivational interviewing (MI) toolkit, you will find a variety of tools and strategies designed to help you apply the spirit of MI so you can more effectively evoke people’s own interests, experiences, and good ideas for change. Designed for mental health clinicians who want to deepen their learning and proficiency, this toolkit provides:

• Examples of how to use MI to support people experiencing a variety of mental health issues
• Activities to help you more deeply explore the fundamental concepts, spirit, and tools of MI
• Sample conversation scripts that demonstrate the MI skills in practice
• Exercises to assess your progress and gain confidence in your skills
• Tools to help you integrate MI more fully into your practice

Most importantly, this toolkit offers a variety of flexible opportunities for you to actively practice the core skills of MI: Use them on your own, with a partner, with a team of colleagues, or within an MI learning community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683732013
Publisher:	PESI Publishing & Media
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Frey, PhD is a licensed psychologist, clinician, member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), MI skills coach and organizational consultant. She is passionate about working with mental health clinicians to even more effectively support people in making meaningful changes.

Ali Hall, JD, is a member of MINT and is an independent consultant and trainer. She designs and facilitates MI workshops in a wide variety of contexts, including training for trainers in a number of evidence-based practices, and provides consultation for organizational implementation. She is a co-developer of the Motivational Interviewing Competency Assessment (MICA), a coding and coaching tool for MI skill development.

Table of Contents

Foreword xv

Preface xvii

Introduction 1

Learning Experiences in the Toolkit 1

Maximizing Your Learning 2

Chapter 1 MI with People Experiencing Mental Health Issues 7

The Value of MI in Mental Health Settings 8

Depression 9

Anxiety 12

Bipolar Symptoms 14

Substance Use Issues 16

Thought Disorders 19

Chapter 2 Strengthening the Spirit of Motivational Interviewing 25

Components of MI Spirit 25

Turning "What's Wrong" into "What's Strong" 37

Strengthening MI Spirit and Avoiding Burnout with Mindful Practices 40

Monitoring Your Ml Spirit Over Time 44

Chapter 3 Conversations About Change 51

Constructive Conversations About Change 51

Interpersonal Communication Styles and Conversations About Change 53

Ambivalence About Change 60

Components of an Effective Motivational Conversation 1: MI-Consistent Behaviors, MI-Inconsistent Behaviors, Evocative Behaviors 66

Components of an Effective Motivational Conversation 2: Relational and Technical Components 69

Brief Conversations About Change 71

Introducing Ml Processes and Core Skills 77

Chapter 4 The Core Skills of MI 81

Listening 81

Core Skill: Open Questions 87

Core Skill: Affirmations 90

Core Skill: Reflections 98

Core Skill: Summaries 112

Offering Mi-Consistent Information and Advice 114

The Core Skills and the Spirit of MI 117

Chapter 5 Engaging: The Relational Foundation 119

The Importance of Engaging 120

Engaging and the Initial MI Conversation 122

Our Strengths in Engaging 126

Challenges of Engaging 129

MI-Consistent Ways to Gather Assessment Information 132

Engaging with Open Questions, Affirmations, and Reflections 137

Engaging by Exploring Values and Priorities 148

Preparing for Engaging Conversations 152

Ongoing Assessment of Our Ability to Engage 154

The Dance of MI: Introduction to a Framework 161

The Dance of MI: Moving from Engaging to Focusing 161

Chapter 6 Focusing: The Strategic Direction 165

Straightforward Focusing 166

Shared Agenda Focusing 166

Sorting Multiple Potential Change Focuses 169

Focusing When the Focus Is Unclear 173

Tools to Help Identify and Prioritize Focuses 178

The Dance of MI: Moving from Focusing to Evoking 186

Chapter 7 Evoking: Preparation for change 189

Language About Change 190

Types of Change Talk 192

Evoking and Responding to Change Talk 195

Strengthening Acceptance and Developing Discrepancy 203

Evoking Importance and Confidence 204

Softening/Decreasing Sustain Talk 209

Equipoise: Evoking Change Talk with Neutrality 220

Tools to Aid Evoking 220

A Bridge for Change 225

The Dance of MI: From Evoking to Planning 238

Chapter 8 Planning: The Bridge to Change 241

Testing the Water for Planning 242

Sample Initial Planning Conversation 243

Strengthening Commitment for Making a Change 247

Moving from "Why" to "How": Action Planning 250

Resolving Ambivalence While Creating a Plan 261

Tools to Enhance Following Through and Sustaining Change 264

The Dance of MI: From Planning to Preventing a Recurrence 273

Chapter 9 Conversations About Suicide and the MI Four Processes 277

Ml with People Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts and Intentions 277

The Four Processes: Engaging 278

The Four Processes: Focusing 281

The Four Processes: Evoking 282

The Four Processes: Planning 295

Following Up 302

Chapter 10 Next Steps: Continuing Your MI Journey 305

Coaching and Coding 305

Communities of Practice 306

Self-Assessment and Peer Feedback 307

Finally 317

References 319

Appendix. Suicidal Risk Resources 323

Screening 323

Suicide Risk Assessment and Treatment Intervention Information 323